HADLEY — A manager of licensing and permitting for Eversource energy projects, who also brings experience chairing the Conservation Commission in Sandwich, will serve on the Planning Board through next May’s town election.

In a unanimous joint vote by the remaining four members of the Planning Board and the five members of the Select Board, Matthew Waldrip of Breckenridge Road was appointed to fill the vacancy left following the July 18 resignation of Michael Sarsynski, who stepped off the panel after more than a decade.

Waldrip, employed at the Route 9 Eversource headquarters and leading a team of 15 scientists and engineers since March 2020, holds a bachelor’s degree in regional planning from Westfield State University. He said he brings experience in environmental and zoning issues.

Waldrip was recommended following interviews by the Planning Board Tuesday with four applicants for the vacant position, with the others being Kishore Parmar, Andrew Gnatek and Anthony Fyden.

While a newcomer to Hadley, having lived in town for a year to be closer to his son, Waldrip said when he was at Westfield State he would visit the University of Massachusetts, Hadley and Amherst on a regular basis.

“I always admired how you had all the commercial development in one spot and also preserved the agricultural (land). I thought that was a really smart decision,” Waldrip said.

Waldrip, though, said he understands the challenges the town is facing.

“You’re going to have to be strategic going forward to continue to preserve the character of the town and it’s something I admire and want to be part of and think I would positively contribute to it,” he said.

Waldrip said he would also be consistent with decisions made by the board, understanding that planners need to follow town bylaws, and he sees an additional role as serving as an educator to applicants for special permits and site plan reviews.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.