Published in the July 26, 2018 edition.
By MAUREEN DOHERTY
PATRICK BOWER
NORTH READING — The town’s newest department head was introduced to the Board of Selectmen Monday night.
Patrick Bower began his tenure as the Director of the Department of Public Works on July 23. Town Administrator Michael Gilleberto told the board that Bower “comes to us from the city of Methuen where he has served as DPW Director since 2014. Mr. Bower also served as DPW Director and Town Engineer in Raymond, N.H. from 2010 to 2014.” The T.A. added that Bower had also briefly served as the Interim Town Manager for that community.
Bower also has private sector experience, serving for seven years in the field of “project engineering and construction,” and previously had been the Assistant Town Engineer in Winchester from 1996-2001.
Gilleberto also noted that Bower is a licensed professional engineer in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire and holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from UMass Lowell.
36 applicants in two rounds
During the seven month search process, Gilleberto said they advertised the position twice, once in January and again in April. Human Resources Director Bob Collins said they received 36 applications. “The first group was in February. We interviewed five out of the 12 that applied,” he said. The town subsequently continued the search, re-advertising the position and receiving 24 additional resumes, interviewing seven candidates and coming up with three finalists. We look at it as an investment process,” he said about the length of the search and the willingness to re-advertise the position when they did not find the right fit after the first round.
No one was more relieved to turn over the reins than Water Superintendent Mark Clark. He has been serving the dual role of Acting DPW Director while also continuing his duties as Water Superintendent throughout the crucial negotiation process with Andover on the 99-year lease agreement after former DPW Director Andrew Lafferty returned to the private sector in January. “I don’t think there is anybody in this room who wants to see Patrick succeed more than me,” Clark said.
Gilleberto and the entire board welcomed Bower and thanked Clark.
“I want to recognize Mark Clark, our Water Superintendent who served as Acting Director during a very challenging time,” Gilleberto said, as the room erupted in applause. “Mark is an example of the strong DPW that we have today, with Julie (Spurr Knight) as the Building Superintendent, with Chris Deming as Operations Manager and John Klipfel as the Town Engineer. We have a great team and you’ll have a lot of support,” Gilleberto said.
Clark echoed the T.A. comments regarding the strength of the DPW as it composed today. “I’ve spent more time with you guys than I have with my wife,” he said, adding, “I want to thank everyone on the board. The final bill for FY18 came in from Andover today and we were within three cents between my calculations and theirs for the credit that we received, and the credit was almost $375,000. You guys were instrumental in getting that done at the local level and at the state level.”
“I also wanted to thank all the department heads and recognize the DPW staff. We went through some rather huge incidents a couple of years ago but the staff that we have right now has just been incredible,” Clark said.
Clark also singled out Deming for praise. “Chris was a union member. He stepped out of the union about the time Andrew left town, became the operations manager down at the garage and without Chris’s assistance, it would have been a nightmare. He is just a real solid guy.”
Selectmen Bob Mauceri acknowledged that they worked hard on the water contract but it would not have happened without Clark. “He spent countless hours convincing the folks in Andover it was the right thing to do,” Mauceri said, adding Clark never missed one of those long negotiation sessions.
Selectman Steve O’Leary agreed. “He was our face and that was key,” O’Leary said, adding that he hopes Clark can now take a vacation as he has not had a day off in about seven months.
“No where to go but forward”
Selectmen Chairman Mike Prisco told Bower that “he was coming on board at the perfect time” now that the town’s water issues are settled and the town can now move forward with its future wastewater plans. He noted that not too long ago the town was on a path of “separating the wastewater from the water and now we are on a path to keeping them together,” Prisco said, adding, “We’re going to be turning this over to you to help us take it to that next level.”
“We’ve put in place the infrastructure, the financials, the authority, everything (you need) to build a team. You have a great DPW team,” Prisco said.
Using Deming as an example again, the chairman said, “When you take an individual that’s willing to leave the union and move into a leadership role that tells you something about the community you’re coming to. It’s unheard of, so you’re in a great place to succeed. We have no where else to go but forward.”
