Following the departure of Allenstown town administrator Derik Goodine, who held the position since 2018, John Harrington will take over the job on Monday.

The town’s Board of Selectmen began their search a few weeks prior to Goodine’s departure in July. They selected Harrington, who has worked as the town administrator in the adjacent community of Deerfield since 2017 and is a longtime resident there.

“John Harrington has lots of experience both at the state and at the local level with administration,” Board of Selectmen chair Scott McDonald said. “He also has a very dynamic and open personality.”

In the interim, John Scruton of Municipal Resources Inc. has been filling the role.

Goodine will serve as the town manager of Castine, Maine. He resigned around the same time as town Finance Director Sherry Miller, as reflected in minutes from the Board of Selectmen’s June 17 meeting.

“He did a wonderful job for us,” McDonald said of Goodine. “In small-town politics, the boards can change and attitudes can change. Derik had an opportunity to become a town manager in his home state of Maine, and he took advantage of it.”

In a letter published on the town website, Goodine spoke about what he is most proud of from his tenure.

“I would say that I believe I helped make Allenstown’s quality-of-place better and enhanced the valuation in town by bringing in the two largest developments since the China Mill was built back in the 1800s,” Goodine wrote. “Both the 25 Canal Lofts and the Hillsbrook Village Senior Living have grown the population in Allenstown by at least 500 people and created at least 60 new jobs in town. Over the next five years, these projects will be fully on the tax rolls, which will provide valuable tax relief to the taxpayers.”

He also addressed the projects he did not have the chance to finish and expressed his hopes for the future of the town.

“I was in discussions with a developer to bring in a fast food option and some other businesses into Allenstown, which have been heavily in demand by the residents,” Goodine said in the letter. “I also hope to see the development of the Town Hall and other uses at the old elementary school!”

Rachel Wachman can be reached at rwachman@cmonitor.com.