Aquinnah town administrator Adam Wilson will resign his post to take another job.
His resignation was announced at the selectmen’s meeting Monday night and comes during a period of internal tension and turmoil at town hall.
Mr. Wilson said he is in the final stages of employment talks with Bay State Wind, the consortium planning a wind farm 12 miles south of the Vineyard. He expects to go to work as the Island outreach coordinator for the wind farm project.
“It’s a great career opportunity, a chance to reinvent myself and work for a project that’s going to be a big benefit to the Vineyard community,” the town administrator told the Gazette by phone after the meeting.
Selectmen Juli Vanderhoop and Jim Newman both said he will be missed.
“It was a shock and we’re spinning a bit,” Ms. Vanderhoop said by phone.
“I’m very sorry to see him go, he was good and really helped our organization,” Mr. Newman said.
Mr. Wilson has been town administrator for the past six and a half years. The annual town meeting and election are next week, and his announced resignation came on the same night the selectmen reviewed and signed off on the warrant.
Mr. Newman said Mr. Wilson has agreed to help with the transition while the town searches for a new administrator. Under the terms of his contract he is required to give the town 60 days notice. “I appreciate all he has done and now we need to move on,” Mr. Newman said.
The resignation comes as the selectmen and town assessors spar over authority and control. In another twist, Mr. Wilson also is running for assessor against longtime assessor Michael Stutz in the town election next week.
On Monday night he said he still intends to run for office and to continue living in Aquinnah.
“I’m not going anywhere, I’m just changing jobs,” he said.
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