SKOWHEGAN — A former Somerset County administrator whose jobs have ranged from working at a McDonald’s kitchen to running her own law practice will take over soon as the town manager in Skowhegan.

Dawn DiBlasi, 62, of Fairfield is scheduled to begin her new role Monday. She has signed a three-year contract with the town.

“It’s an up-and-coming town,” DiBlasi said in an interview Monday. “There’s a lot going on here and I’m excited to be part of it.”

DiBlasi was hired following a search that began in February. Christine Almand, the previous town manager for nearly a decade, resigned in November after a monthslong medical-related leave.

Since Almand’s departure, Chief David Bucknam of the Skowhegan Police Department has been serving without additional pay as interim town manager. He plans to continue as police chief after DiBlasi assumes her new post.

Per the terms of her contract, DiBlasi is to be paid $95,000 in her first year, with a 3.5% increase in pay for the remaining two years of her contract. The contract, which includes benefits, allows for renewal at the end of the three-year period.

Selectmen considered about a dozen candidates, but DiBlasi stood out because of her experience and familiarity with the area as county administrator for 10 years, board Chairman Todd Smith said.

“My hopes are that we can bring some structure back to our town and our community,” Smith said, adding that Bucknam and other department heads have filled the void created by Almand’s departure.

DiBlasi is to assume the role of town manager as Skowhegan is experiencing economic growth and working on several large projects.

The job comes with more than just managing an annual town budget of more than $17 million and nearly 80 employees. DiBlasi will also play a key role in several ongoing infrastructure projects, including a whitewater River Park, a ballfield expansion project and a second bridge over the Kennebec River.

DiBlasi will have to navigate the financial impact of several economic developments, including expansions of the New Balance factory and the Sappi Somerset Mill, the mixed-use rehabilitation of a former mill downtown and the push by some organizations and businesses to draw more outdoor recreation tourism to Skowhegan.

“The town of Skowhegan has so many things going on that I think it’s going to be challenging,” DiBlasi said. “But I think it’s going to be very rewarding as things come to fruition and we can start to see tangible evidence of these goals being met.”

Selectmen said they were impressed with DiBlasi’s experience as Somerset County administrator, a job she held from 2013 until last spring, Smith said.

“I thought that 10 years was enough,” DiBlasi said. “I felt that I had done a lot of good at the county and that everything was changing. There was a new board (Somerset County Commissioners), and I thought that they should have kind of a fresh start.”

DiBlasi left the top county job to return to practicing law, a career she began at age 42.

DiBlasi’s parents, a Sicilian father and an Irish mother, moved her family from the Boston area to central Maine when DiBlasi was 12.

She attended Waterville Senior High School, while working at McDonald’s to support her father, who had a six-year battle with cancer, and her mother, who was also disabled by medical conditions.

DiBlasi later held jobs at C.F. Hathaway Shirt Co. in Waterville and Scott Paper Co. in Winslow, among others. While she worked, DiBlasi studied computers at Kennebec Valley Technical College and paralegal studies and business at Thomas College in Waterville.

After working as a legal secretary and at an accounting firm, DiBlasi was hired as administrator of the history and government departments at Colby College. She continued studying at Colby College and the University of Southern Maine, and with the encouragement of the professors in her department at Colby, went on to law school at the University of Maine School of Law.

DiBlasi graduated with her law degree in 2003 and opened a general practice law office in Oakland in 2006, working on cases in Kennebec and Somerset counties. Her legal career then brought her to work for the state as an attorney advocate for workers’ compensation for three years, before she was hired by Somerset County in 2013.

DiBlasi said her personal background — working hard to take care of two disabled parents — influences her outlook on the town’s budget. During her time at the county, most years saw a 2% increase, with the largest year-over-year increase about 4%.

“My dad died of cancer young, and my mother couldn’t walk so I supported her for 40 years,” DiBlasi said. “How would somebody like her survive — if she didn’t have me — on a fixed income? How does the little old lady around the corner pay her taxes, or does she have to decide that she’s not going to eat this week and that she’s not going to have fuel?

“I want to be able to look at that budget and say, ‘What can we do to provide some relief to people, and still provide the best service that we can provide?’”

DiBlasi said she hopes to bring her mediation skills from years of working in probate and family law to her role as town manager to bring peace to Skowhegan’s residents, business owners and municipal employees. She said the skills were necessary almost every day while working as the Somerset County administrator.

DiBlasi said that in her first months as town manager, she plans to listen to residents, business owners, elected officials and municipal department heads.

“My first year is going to consist of finding out what do the people want from a town manager, what do the people want from the town on the whole and how can I make it better and moving forward toward the goals that the town has,” DiBlasi said.

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