VINALHAVEN – Island resident Patricia Lundholm has been appointed as the interim town manager, while selectmen sift through some 40 applications for the full-time position.

Lundholm is well-versed in computer software and was responsible for suggesting an improved policy for vehicles boarding the island ferryboats, according to Selectwoman Barbara Davidson on Saturday.

Lundholm, who works part time for a Lewiston shoe company, has worked on the island’s comprehensive plan as well, Davidson said.

According to Dean Thompson, chairman of selectmen, the town had received about 40 applications for the town manager position by the weekend. The post was vacated recently when Greg McGinnis resigned. McGinnis, who had replaced Susan Lessard in mid-January, decided to move back to North Carolina. Lessard had been top administrator for seven years before that.

“They’re still dribbling in,” Thompson said, referring to applications. The deadline for filing is Friday, Dec. 14.

Interest has come from across the country, Davidson said, noting that one applicant is from Kansas and another from Florida.

“We’d like to stay as close to home as possible,” Davidson said, explaining that it is difficult to ask people to travel long distances for interviews. So far, selectmen had met with about a half-dozen applicants, she said.

While Lundholm is filling in, she will be paid $20 an hour, Thompson said.

“We’re very fortunate to have found someone who can sit in that chair for a while,” Davidson said. Now, the board can take the necessary time to find the right person for the permanent position, she said.

Since September, three town officials have resigned from their posts.

Just before McGinnis announced his plans to leave, longtime Selectwoman Emily Lane and Selectman Albert Ames quit for different reasons.

At a special election in November, Bodine Ames and Eric Davis were elected to the fill those unexpired terms on the board. Those terms expire in June 2003.