POLAND —The Select Board has hired Matthew Garside of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, as its next town manager.

He has been hired to replace Bradley Plante, who decided not to renew his three-year contract and left the position in March.

Garside was selected from a field of 29 applicants in a national search,  which began in March with the assistance of Eaton Peabody Consulting Group.

The board and Garside have reached a tentative agreement on a contract. The board is scheduled to vote on the selection and approve a contract at a special meeting at 6:15 p.m. on Thursday, July 6, at the town office.

According to a written statement from the town of Poland, Garside is a Navy veteran and has held many senior level positions in the Navy as well as the private sector. His most recent position was chief executive officer and board director for Reflect Geophysical, a company  that provides marine geophysical services for the oil and gas exploration industry in the Asia Pacific region, based in Singapore.

Garside holds a masters in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

His scheduled starting date in Poland is July 17.

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