WESTFIELD – Mayor Daniel M. Knapik will nominate a former City Council member to serve as the Community Development Director.
Knapik said Thursday that he will submit the name of Peter J. Miller Jr., who represented Ward 3 for more than eight years, to the City Council for confirmation at the Dec. 20 session.
Miller was one of two finalists on a short list presented by a screening committee to Knapik this week. The other finalist was former West Springfield Mayor Edward Gibson.
Assistant Personnel Director Jeff Krok said that the city received 12 applications for the position and that a screening committee, composed of Krok, City Advancement Officer Jeff Daley and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) coordinator Diana McLean, interviewed six of the candidates on Tuesday and Wednesday before sending the short list of finalists to Knapik for his selection.
Daley said that Miller interviewed well during the screening process.
“He did his homework,” Daley said. “He is everything you’d look for in a candidate.”
Knapik said that Miller “stood head and shoulders above the other candidates” because of his experience in government service, both as a City Council member and as a Chief of Staff for state Senator Michael R. Knapik, R-Westfield, since 1995. Sen. Knapik is a minority leader in the Legislature.
Mayor Knapik quipped that his selection of Miller for the city post will be “interesting table conversation with my brother during the holiday meals.”
Knapik said that Miller’s tenure representing Ward 3 gave him a unique perspective of the city.
“He’s a guy who understands neighborhoods, that they are the fabric of our community,” Knapik said. “He is a very community-development minded individual.”
“He likes to get things done,” Knapik said. “He has a track record of getting issues over the finish line.”
Knapik said that Miller “has a predilection to keep doors open to work deals, a behind-the-scene guy, very easy going, steady. That what this job requires.”
Miller also brings to the position his relationships in state government, built for nearly two decades while serving on Sen. Knapik’s staff, while his time on the council provided the opportunity to acquire “extensive knowledge of our local zoning regulations and municipal government.”
Miller is a life-long resident of Westfield, which was another factor in Knapik’s decision to select Miller.
“To be successful at some jobs you really need to be a resident. I feel that this is one of those jobs,” Knapik said. “You just don’t work nine-to-five, call it a day, and go home. You have to part of the fabric of the community.”
Knapik hopes that the City Council will vote to confirm Miller’s appointment at its Jan. 3, 2013 session and that he will assume his new duties shortly thereafter.
“He’s ready to rock and roll,” Knapik said. “He knows the project we have in process and role to play in the Elm Street (commercial building, parking garage and transportation) facility, as well as the Old Town improvements related to the Ashley Street school project.”
Miller is completing the Public Administration Masters Degree program at Westfield University.
