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The Riverdale Park Town Council has approved the mayor's pick for a new town administrator.

Mayor Vernon Archer's nominee, Sara Imhulse, is the current assistant to the city manager in College Park.

During a meeting Sept. 17, the council approved Imhulse to fill the position that will be left vacant in October by current Town Administrator Patrick Prangley.

Prangley will step down after 30 years at the post to enroll in a graduate program at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Mass.

Imhulse is the assistant to the city manager of College Park, a position she has held for five years.

Imhulse, 31, of Washington, D.C., previously worked for the city of Milford, Ohio. She holds a master's degree in public administration from Northern Kentucky University.

Imhulse said she isn't intimidated by the prospect of taking over for Prangley, who accumulated years of institutional knowledge.

"I'm encouraged by the path that Pat Prangley has laid out here for the next town administrator," she said. "This has been a career goal of mine... I'm excited about staying in Prince George's County."

Imhulse said she is still negotiating the terms of the job with Riverdale Park officials and that her hiring is not yet official, although Archer said he is confident the town will hire Imhulse.

Riverdale Park had advertised the position nationally.

Imhulse has a strong background in state legislative affairs through her advocacy for College Park in the Maryland General Assembly, said Riverdale Park Councilman Alan Thompson (Ward 2). Riverdale Park and College Park share the same legislative delegation.

Before the council vote, Councilwoman Alice Ewen Walker (Ward 1) called Imhulse's nomination "an excellent decision."

"I think College Park has achieved successes we'd like to replicate," she said in an interview. "There are best practices that Sara can bring from other towns and replicate in Riverdale Park."

Imhulse was involved in securing a grant to help pay for College Park's parking garage and in working to get the city zoning enforcement authority.

College Park will feel a loss with her departure, College Park Councilman Patrick Wojahn (Dist. 1) said.

"She's always been key as a liaison between the staff and city council," he said. "She's always provided me with good information when I needed it and just been very helpful in getting resources together."

E-mail Elahe Izadi at eizadi@gazette.net.