ROCKINGHAM — With now a little over six weeks behind him on the job, newly hired Municipal Manager Timothy Cullenen said he is “getting a good sense of what's important” to the people and community he now serves.
“I see a lot of diversity [within Rockingham], with some disagreements on some issues,” he said, “but I don't feel any tensions [between the boards].”
Cullenen said that he sees it as a very positive thing that quality-of-life issues are of such great concern to both boards. “These are important to address if a community wants to develop and grow.”
Interim Municipal Manager Francis “Dutch” Walsh is now back to being “just” the development director, and he said that he goes to sleep now without leaving his cell phone on by his bed.
“I get most weekends off now,” said Walsh, who appreciates Cullenen's planning and development background.
“It's really great to have someone to bounce ideas off of,” he said. “We speak the same language. That background was one of the reasons we hired him.”
Walsh noted that he and Cullenen have been prioritizing projects that had to give a bit as a result of handling the full-time responsibilities of two municipal employees.
“We've gone over the list and decided what some of the first projects to focus on are what's most important for the economic development of the community. We'll tick things off as they get done, and keep on going down the list,” Walsh said.
Walsh said that Cullenen's strength in setting goals and prioritizing are going to be great assets to the development of the downtown business district projects.
The slow economy notwithstanding, Cullenen sees positive growth in the community, citing interest by various community groups to see the Island better used where the Waypoint Center, the train depot, and largely defunct manufacturing buildings are clustered.
“It's a very underutilized space,” he said. “I see the right things being done, like [Zoning Administrator] Ellen Howard holding public meetings to discuss zoning changes that would allow a more diverse use by businesses.”
Cullenen was at Cornell University's Community and Rural Development Institute before he made the switch a few years ago to municipal management. He brings a sense of the process and what communities should consider when looking at planning and developing resources.
Cullenen said that he has taken an interest in, and has been involved in, the Main Street America movement, so he understands Bellows Falls from that perspective as well.
Making his list
Pointing out a black notebook open on his desk in front of him with two columns and lots of cross-outs, he said that he counts a day successful if the list he starts at the beginning of the day has a lot of scratch marks on it, marked “done.”
“I'm always handling day-to-day stuff,” he said. “But I work off my list all day as well.”
Cullenen told the Village Trustees recently that he has met with the department heads and “stressed the importance of accountability to all those present. This includes budget items, programs, level of service, and other pertinent areas affecting the municipality.”
Cullenen has recently met with Vermont Emergency Management and Windham Regional Commission representatives, as well as the police and fire chiefs, to work out who the Emergency Management Coordinator will be and where the control center will be located.
“We don't know any of that yet,” he said last week, “but we're working on it.”
Most towns in Vermont have pre-disaster mitigation and hazard assessments included in town plans, enabling them to gain access to funds from the state to mitigate identifiable risks for a future disaster, such as replacing smaller culverts with larger ones.
The hottest task on the table right now, Cullenen said, “is probably the union negotiations for employees' wages and salaries.”
He noted that he does not anticipate any issues, but that the process has only just begun.
Cullenen is also involved with “conversations” with TransCanada regarding ongoing commitments, and he will be meeting with both state and local officials from both sides of the Connecticut River on June 30 at the Walpole, N.H. Town Hall regarding the future of the Vilas Bridge, which has been closed since 2009.
“I understand how important that bridge is to the community,” he said. “I want to stay on top of it, and if I can't hurry it up, I want to make sure there's no lagging on [fixing] it.”
Cullenen said that he “likes New England a lot” and wants to be here long enough to see what are mere “concepts now, become reality.”
In spite of his short experience in municipal management, he said, he decided to take the step into practice because he wanted to “experience hands on” what had only been theoretical to him before.
Noting that people in his line of work move around a lot, he said that he sees a municipal manager as similar to a major league baseball manager.
“Things change with the winds of politics,” he said with a shrug. “If the team is doing well, the coach stays. When the team does badly, sometimes it's the coach who goes.”
But, he said, “I hope to see things through here. There are a lot of positive things going on here. What community this size has an independent radio station and a great little farmers' market right beside the river? This place has a lot going for it. It's a neat size and has a legitimate downtown.”
Speaking of the biggest bone of contention in recent years, municipal consolidation, he said that he doesn't see it “as much of an issue right now,” preferring to view the recurring debate over merging the governments of the Town of Rockingham with the Village of Bellows Falls as more a matter of time and resource efficiency.
However, he said he understands concern by residents over a merger, such as fears over tax hikes and what residents would get in return as a result of the change.
Overall, Cullenen said that he loves the new job and is finally feeling that he is getting to know people. His task- and goal-oriented management style includes letting department heads do their jobs the way they think best, and stepping in only when necessary.
For finance director, a move closer to home
Along with Cullenen's entry, a changing of the old guard is occurring.
Finance Director John O'Connor is leaving to serve his hometown of Brattleboro in the same position, starting July 7.
Cullenen said that he was not sure exactly how the town would proceed, noting that “the staff already in place is underestimated” in their ability to cover at least some of the functions O'Connor does.
But, he was careful to say, “We're looking at all options right now, including hiring someone temporary or part time. Those decisions are still ahead.”