HomeMy Public PortalAboutTA Report 05.13.19
Town of Brewster
2198 Main Street
Brewster, MA 02631-1898
Phone: (508) 896-3701
Fax: (508) 896-8089
MEMORANDUM
TO: Select Board
FROM: Peter Lombardi, Town Administrator
RE: Town Administrator Report
DATE: May 13, 2019
Personnel
We received a number of applications for the vacant Finance Director position by the
April 15 submission deadline and are set to interview four candidates this week and
next. The interview panel will consist of the Finance Team (Treasurer/Collector, Interim
Finance Director, Assessor, and Assistant Town Administrators) as well as one member
of both the Select Board and Finance & Advisory Committee. We are pleased with the
quality of the candidate pool and are hopeful that this key position will be filled by the
start of the new fiscal year to ensure a smooth transition.
With Ellen Bearse’s departure late last month, the current Assistant Director, Mike
Gradone, has been managing the Recreation Department for the past couple weeks.
The internal posting for this position expired last Friday and Mike was the only applicant
for the position. All of the feedback I have received about Mike has been very
complimentary of his work and his performance evaluations have been exemplary. I
met with Mike for an interview last week and was very impressed with his education
and experience as well as his commitment to and vision for the Department. I met with
the Recreation Commission earlier this evening and they were fully supportive of my
recommendation to promote Mike to serve as our next Recreation Director. Over the
next week, I will be extending an offer of employment to Mike and we will be
advertising to fill the Assistant Director position as soon as possible, particularly with
summer programming around the corner.
With Nancy Ice set to retire in early August, I have been working with the Board of
Health Chair Carmen Scherzo, Select Board member Mary Chaffee, and Assistant Town
Administrator Susan Broderick on a process to fill the Health Director position. The
Board of Health, as the hiring authority, plans to take up their review of an updated job
description and proposed hiring process for this position at their meeting this
Wednesday. At this time, that process would be open to both internal and external
candidates and would include initial screening of the applicant pool by a Search
Office of:
Select Board
Town Administrator
Committee comprised of the BOH Chair, SB Liaison, myself and one or two Department
Heads. The goal is for the Search Committee to present select finalists to the BOH for
their consideration at their July meeting.
After meeting with all of the Department Heads one-on-one over the past several
weeks, I have organized them into leadership teams that will meet on a monthly basis
going forward to work on issues of mutual interest. The teams are oriented as follows:
Finance, Public Safety, Community Development, and Social Services. I have been
incredibly impressed with the level of interdepartmental coordination already in place
and believe that this approach will help to support and strengthen those relationships
and lines of communication.
Water Award
Last week, our Water Department was recognized by MassDEP with a Public Water
System Award for Outstanding Performance and Achievement in the Medium/Large
Community System Category for 2018. Although their work in ensuring the delivery of
the highest quality water to our residents is renowned, this is the first time that our
Water Department has received this particular distinction under the Commonwealth’s
Drinking Water Program. Kudos to Water Superintendent Paul Anderson and his entire
team.
Fire Safety Education Trailer Grant
Earlier this month, Brewster Fire/Rescue announced it had accepted delivery of a new
Fire Safety Education trailer that was funded through a $35,500 Federal Assistance to
Firefighters Fire Prevention Grant, a $5,000 donation from the Brewster Fire/Rescue
Association, and a 5% match of $1,775 from a Fire Department grant match funding
article. The trailer includes numerous fire safety education props that will provide
Brewster firefighters the ability to educate a school aged children and other age groups
on smoke detector use, cooking safety, surviving a fire, crawling low in smoke, fall
safety, 911 notification, and exit drills in the home. The department plans to utilize this
unique fire safety educational resource to enhance the level of fire prevention
awareness for Brewster residents.
Financial Report
Next week, our Finance Team is scheduled to meet with Department of Revenue staff
who have been working over the past several months on developing recommended best
practices in financial management for Brewster. This review will also include a series of
financial policies for the Town to consider. Once the DOR report is finalized and
approved, we will schedule a follow-up joint meeting with the Finance & Advisory
Committee and Select Board to review its findings and discuss appropriate next steps.
Vision Forum
Last month, the Cape Cod Commission issued long-awaited draft guidance on
municipalities seeking to prepare a Local Comprehensive Plan (LCP). Town staff met
with Vision Plan Chair Hal Minis last week to discuss how this proposed master planning
process fits into the work that we have already done on this front over the past few
years and what it means in terms of moving forward with the Vision Forum concept.
We are in the process of scheduling a follow-up meeting with CCC staff to provide our
feedback on the guidelines as currently drafted in the hopes that most if not all of the
process and work product that resulted from our Vision Plan can be utilized to satisfy
their requirements. Once we have a better sense of the extent to which we will have to
adapt those findings to satisfy the CCC’s minimum criteria for LCPs, we will then be able
to determine the best approach to integrating the findings from the Vision Plan into the
LCP and ensuring that those larger strategic planning efforts remain in the forefront.
Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness
Our consultants for this initiative facilitated a public listening session on April 24 to
solicit resident feedback on our draft Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Plan.
The core planning team will be meeting again next week to prioritize action items and
finalize our Plan based in part on this feedback. We will also be determining what
projects to apply for when the solicitation for the next round of MVP Action grants is
announced sometime later this summer. Potential projects that have resulted from this
process vary from making local regulatory changes to initiating awareness campaigns
and from updating related planning documents to investing in specific capital projects.