Enfield's personnel coordinator has become Vernon's new assistant town administrator.

Mayor George Apel presented Dawn Maselek to the Town Council on Tuesday night as the preferred candidate for the position and she was approved after a short discussion.

Apel said more than 120 applications were submitted.

Maselek lives in Stafford and has been with Enfield since February 2002. An equine enthusiast, she is also the former owner of Camelot stables in East Windsor and has horses in Stafford.

According to Maselek's resume, her duties in Enfield have included compiling a chart of salary projections for department heads during budget season, handling the transfer of custodial staff members from the Board of Education to the town, setting up retirement packages, overseeing a medical plan transition and compiling governmental reports on requirements such as equal opportunity and affirmative action.

Apel joked her background will come in handy because six municipal contracts are set to expire in June.

"I'm going to be diving right into the deep end," Maselek said.  

Maselek also has strong electronic data skills, according to her resume.
 
The job had been vacant since late September, when Peter Graczykowski left to become the city manager in East Providence, R.I.

Democratic council member Michael Winkler preferred that the position remain unfilled. Winkler prefaced his comments by saying he applauded the search committee's choice and endorsed Maselek's qualifications.

He said the "most efficient" towns near Vernon have a chief executive and one chief administrator at most and the extra tier allowed in Vernon's Charter is unnecessary. Winkler said he blamed the Charter and not the current administration.

The council then endorsed Maselek 11-1 with Winkler noting no on that principal.

A formal start date and compensation package still have to be negotiated, Apel said. The salary for the position is about $76,000 a year, Apel said.