Tisbury’s top choice for a new town administrator has accepted the position and will start on March 3, select board chair John Cahill said Monday.

Joseph J. LaCivita, currently the general manager of Watervliet, N.Y., was the select board’s unanimous choice to succeed longtime town administrator John (Jay) Grande, who left in December for a private-sector job.

“There's a lot of work that needs to be done [and] some interesting projects ahead,” Mr. LaCivita, 63, said in an interview Monday. “I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and move.”

Mr. Cahill said that Mr. LaCivita brings a wealth of experience and he'll play a key leadership role in town.

“[His] management style is based on employee collaboration and community engagement, and we believe he’s a great fit for the culture of our special town,” Mr. Cahill wrote.

Mr. LaCivita has agreed to a starting salary of $200,000 with a $36,000 housing allowance, Mr. Cahill told the Gazette by email.

In Watervliet, a town of about 10,000 residents, Mr. LaCivita oversees a $15 million budget for municipal staff and services that include a reservoir, dam, hydroelectric plant and water treatment facility.

Mr. LaCivita previously managed the New York State economic development council and, with his wife, privately developed a mixed-use property in the Watervliet area.

His resume also includes a bachelor’s degree in business administration from SUNY Empire State College in Albany and ongoing work toward a master’s  degree in public administration, expected this fall, from Marist College in Poughkeepsie. 

At his public interview in December, Mr. LaCivita told the select board that his family has a decades-long tradition of vacationing in Vineyard Haven and that he had considered retiring there.

“Coming to Tisbury is really a dream come true for me and Diane,” Mr. LaCivita said. “For years, we’ve cherished what Marthas Vineyard has offered us as visitors and now we have a chance to contribute to the community and help it address its myriad challenges and opportunities.”

When he comes to town in March, he will be tasked with tackling the town’s long to-do list, which includes consolidating municipal offices, improving drainage and traffic at the chronically flooded Five Corners intersection and managing growth in both residential and commercial districts.

Veteran Tisbury human resources director Pam Bennett continues as interim town administrator until Mr. LaCivita is on the job in March.