ST. ALBANS – The newly elected St. Albans Board of Selectmen unanimously voted Monday night to dedicate the next two weeks to investigating why the former board refused to renew veteran town manager Larry Post’s contract last fall.

At the end of two weeks, Chairman Kurt Lombard said one of three decisions would be made: Post could be reinstated for four weeks, Post could be offered a new one-year contract, or the board will begin advertising for new candidates.

Interim Town Manager “Bert” Taylor explained that the move to reinstate Post would deflect Post’s pending lawsuit against the town. After the board did not renew his contract last November, which he had previously had for 27 years, Post filed an appeal in Somerset County Superior Court. His appeal was based on the contention that the former board violated state law, his contract and his right to due process. “The remedy I requested was reinstatement to my position as town manager,” Post said Monday night.

Taylor explained that “The longer this goes on, the longer the attorneys are involved and the more it costs.”

Taylor said that “Reinstatement is not a commitment to Mr. Post. It is due process. And it is the fair thing to do at this time.”

A move by Selectman Perley Martin to immediately reinstate Post was deflected when Selectman Peter Denbow said he wanted to move more slowly. “I would feel more comfortable doing more investigation,” said Denbow. “I think we need a two-week period to allow for individual research. We can then share what we have found at our next meeting.”

Local businessman Dennis Smith presented the board with a three-page packet of “reasons why you should not hire the former town manager, Larry Post” that he asked become part of its investigation. Smith’s complaints included charges that Post failed to collect property taxes for a piece of property, that he illegally spent proceeds from a trust fund, that he abated taxes which should be the selectmen’s function, that he withheld information from the selectmen and voters regarding an eminent domain issue, and that he overspent accounts without voter authority.

Lombard assured Smith that Smith’s packet of information would be weighed along with information already on file from the previous selectmen and legal opinions from the Maine Municipal Association.

About 24 residents attended the meeting, including Marie Kirven, who last week was interviewed by the former board for the managerial position. Kirven requested and was allowed to present her resume to the new board.

After the meeting, Post said he would gladly accept his job back and will lobby for a new contract. He also stressed that his suit was about process and reinstatement and he was not seeking $450,000 in damages. “That is a phantom amount,” he said.

In other business, the board discussed:

. Creating a town Web site.

. Updating the technology in the town office.

. Reviewing how the budget committee is elected.