SABATTUS — A day after the town manager resigned, selectmen called a special meeting to consider naming former Lewiston City Administrator Jim Bennett to his seat, temporarily.

"We need an interim town manager. We know this person, we're willing to sit down with this person," Chairman Mark Duquette said Wednesday.

The board will meet at 6:30 p.m. Friday and, after an executive session, discuss signing appointment papers for Bennett, according to its agenda.

It's not certain selectmen will offer the job or that Bennett would take it, Duquette said.

At the meeting Tuesday night, the board had accepted Town Manager Gregory Gill's resignation. Three selectmen were in favor, two against. Gill, in place for two years, had worked more than a year without a contract. He was given a severance package that included three months pay and $5,000.

Gill had previously been town administrator in Minot and town manager in Readfield before that.

Bennett had been city administrator in Lewiston for seven years when city councilors terminated his contract in July, taking some by surprise. During his tenure he'd worked on projects like revitalizing the city's downtown gateways and the city's purchase of the Androscoggin Bank Colisee. He'd been the chief administrator in Westbook before coming to Lewiston.

Sabattus is a town of 4,600, Lewiston a city of 35,100, according to the U.S. Census.

Reached for comment, Bennett said, "I read about the situation (in Sabattus) this morning and I've had some conversations with some people today."

He said he preferred that any other comments come from selectmen.

kskelton@sunjournal.com