GOULDSBORO – After nearly five years, the town manager in this Schoodic Peninsula town is stepping down, but he said he’s confident the community is headed in the right direction.

Brad Vassey, 61, an attorney, said he’ll likely take some time off and do some exploring before he returns to Down East Maine, where he owns a home.

“I’d like to get involved in the fishing industry,” Vassey said in an interview Friday. “It may be a little late for me to get my own boat, but maybe someone down here will be nice enough to let me on theirs.”

Vassey will turn over the reins to Francis Grey Jr., 34, originally from Bangor, who was selected among a pool of 22 applicants. Grey’s last job was as utility clerk for the central Maine town of Gardiner, near Augusta.

Grey, who was attending a conference in Orono late last week and did not return a call for comment, signed a two-year contract and will make $40,000 each year.

Vassey said Friday that he already has been working with his successor. They plan to make the official transition this week.

About 2,000 residents live in the town of Gouldsboro, which actually is made up of five unique villages: Birch Harbor, Corea, Gouldsboro, Prospect Harbor and South Gouldsboro. The town’s budget is about $3.5 million.

Recently, the town installed a new pier and is in the process of collaborating with the nearby town of Winter Harbor on a new elementary and middle school.

Next summer, a large project is planned to repair many of Gouldsboro’s roads, including Route 186, which winds around the perimeter of the Schoodic Peninsula. Vassey said that project can’t come soon enough.

He also said Verizon is looking to expand DSL and broadband Internet service into Gouldsboro.

“There are a lot of things going on down here that I’m sure [Grey] will follow through on,” Vassey said.

As for his own tenure, the outgoing manager said there’s nothing he’s not proud of.

“I got to meet a lot of people and maybe even help a few of them,” he said. “What I’ll really value are the contacts I’ve made.”

“What made my job easy here, and gratifying, is a very good Board of Selectmen and a super office staff to deal with.”