The Tisbury select board voted unanimously Wednesday to offer the job of town administrator to Joseph J. LaCivita, currently the general manager for Watervliet, N.Y.

The select board was scheduled to start contract negotiations with Mr. LaCivita on Thursday. If the agreement is hammered out, Mr. LaCivita will succeed John (Jay) Grande, who has served in the top post since 2013.

If Mr. LaCivita takes the job, he will be stepping into Tisbury as the town tries to rectify the ever-flooding Five Corners intersection, works to find a new leader for the fire department and prepares to build a consolidated town hall. 

Mr. LaCivita beat out Sonia Alves-Viveiros, the business manager for the city of Edison, N.J., who was the other finalist out of 22 applicants. 

Though members wished for more candidates, they were pleased with Mr. LaCivita's past experience. — Louisa Hufstader

Mr. LaCivita and Ms. Alves-Viveiros both got to tour the Island and see Tisbury government in action Tuesday at the special town meeting, before joining the select board for separate public interviews Wednesday at Katharine Cornell Theatre.

Both candidates have years of experience in municipal governments larger than Tisbury’s, though each noted that communities of all sizes face similar challenges.

“Are the roads paved? Is my garbage picked up? Is there a sense of making sure that senior services are provided [and] are we addressing our youth and the need within our school system? The issues are all the same, no matter the size,” said Ms. Alves-Viveiros, whose city has more than 100,000 people.

Mr. LaCivita’s city of Watervliet has more than 10,000 residents, compared to Tisbury’s year-round population of approximately 5,000 with, as he noted, uncounted thousands more in the summer.

“That comes with a [higher] level of services that need to be provided,” Mr. LaCivita said.

Watervliet also has its own reservoir, dam, hydroelectric plant and water treatment facility— all of which fall under his direct supervision, along with every other town department, he told the select board Wednesday.

“I never claim to know everything, but I surround myself with the people that can provide the answers,” said Mr. LaCivita.

He described himself as a hands-on manager who fosters communication with city employees and residents.

“My door is always open. My phone is always on,” he said.

“It’s how I lead, and I wouldn’t put someone in a position that I wouldn’t do myself,” Mr. LaCivita said.

Earlier in his career, Mr. LaCivita said, he ran New York’s state economic development council, with responsibilities that included the “I [Heart] N.Y.” marketing campaign.

He and his wife also are businesspeople who have developed a mixed-use apartment and retail complex in the Watervliet area, Mr. LaCivita said.

The LaCivitas and their children, now grown, have a 35-year summer tradition of vacationing in Vineyard Haven and the couple have also visited in the off-season, he told the select board Wednesday.

“This visit today is my third for the year,” he said.

Ms. Alves-Viveiros, who has younger children, said she felt drawn to Tisbury as a place to raise her family. A native of mainland Portugal with relatives from the Azores, she said, she also speaks fluent Portuguese.

Based on her experience with New Jersey cities, Ms. Alves-Viveiros told the select board that Tisbury could be getting more funding for public facilities from property developers, thus easing the burden on taxpayers.

“I don’t think it would hurt to get some developers here to put some money back into these particularly important infrastructures,” she said. 

“I’ve been in communities where an entire rec facility was solely [built with developer funding],” Ms. Alves-Viveiros added.

In public deliberations immediately following the interviews, select board members said they were impressed with both candidates, although Roy Cutrer and Christina Colarusso also said they were disappointed that the selection process brought them only two finalists to review out of the 22 applicants.

Mr. Cahill and Mr. Cutrer quickly named Mr. LaCivita as their top choice.

“I think his management style would fit well with the employees,” Mr. Cahill said.

“We’re going to go through a lot of change, and we’re going to need someone who is a very thoughtful, seasoned manager,” he said.

Ms. Colarusso found Ms. Alves-Viveiros’s language skills appealing, given the numbers of Portuguese-speaking Brazilian families in Tisbury, but voted with her fellow members for Mr. LaCivita.

“I was impressed with both candidates and it’s easy to see a future with either,” she said.

Following Wednesday’s decision, the select board named an interim town administrator to fill in after Mr. Grande leaves the job at the end of this month. Human resources director Pam Bennett will handle town management duties until the new administrator is on the job.

Mr. LaCivita said he could make the transition in 30 to 45 days.