Town Manager search top priority for Saugus officials in 2012

SAUGUS – As 2011 comes to a close, Saugus community members are looking to the year ahead and all of its potential.Whether it’s to spend less or work out more, having a resolution for the New Year is a good way to make amends during the months to come.For town officials, New Year’s resolutions often aim at more than just self-improvement.When they are based on professional goals, resolutions inspire progress for the community as a whole.The start of a new year offers a fresh start and a time to reflect and resolve.But a new year also brings new challenges as Selectman and Saugus Veterans Council President Steve Castinetti pointed out. He is setting a professional resolution for 2012 that many town officials understand and share.”My resolution is to make sure that we hire the right person for the Town Manager position that is now vacant,” Castinetti said.Saugus Fire Chief James Blanchard and Saugus Town Counsel John Vasapolli both echoed Castinetti’s professional goal of filling the spot of Town Manager in a timely fashion.”To get the position filled quickly would be great so we can minimize the amount of time that we have to go with an acting manager. We’re looking at a big turnover and some big changes, and we should keep it as efficient as possible,” Blanchard said.”I’m looking forward to working with the administration to find a new town manager and working with him or her to improve on what we’ve done in the past,” Vasapolli added. “I live here, my family lives here and my practice is here, so it’s important to me to make Saugus a better town.”As for personal resolutions, Vasapolli said he plans to focus more on staying healthy as he ages.Castinetti wants to lose some weight in the new year.”I’ve been goofing off a lot, so it’s time to get back on track and lose some weight,” he said.Appointing a new Town Manager is enough of a resolution for Blanchard, who hasn’t found a personal improvement plan to stick to during 2012.”Everyone says their resolution is to lose weight, but no one ever does,” he said. “Except maybe Steve Castinetti. He has to keep fitting in that Navy uniform.”Blanchard added that he would like to see the American troops in Afghanistan return home in 2012.”We finally brought them home from Iraq, so now it’s time for Afghanistan,” he said.For Department of Public Works Superintendent Joseph Attubato, making a professional resolution is more like wishful thinking.”Hopefully we have a better winter this year than last year,” Attubato said. “This time last year we had about 12 inches of snow.”Attubato says he also wants to lose 15 pounds.Sean Grant, the Executive Director of the Saugus Chamber of Commerce, expects 2012 to be more about continued progress than change. Grant’s professional plans are to keep working on expanding and strengthening the chamber, which made a huge comeback during 2011.”The goal of 2012 is to continue to bring the business community together and to make Saugus not only a better place to work, but a better place to live as well. We have a lot of exciting things coming up in 2012,” Grant said.State Rep. Donald Wong, R-Saugus, also hopes to keep a positive outlook while serving the public to the best of his ability, regardless of what 2012 brings.”I’ve been blessed to be born in the United States and to have the confidence of my district to be voted in as a state rep, and I’d like to do whatever is in my power to enhance the quality of life for the people of Massachusetts,” Wong said.Janice Jarosz, President of the M.E.G. Foundation, has high hopes for the New Year, for both herself and other members of the community.”I would like to focus more on personal growth and being more aware of myself,” Jarosz said. “I’d also like to see more people get involved in their government and their family life.”Jarosz added that her professional aspiration for 2012 is to meet her Memorial Day deadline for a World War II documentary that she’s currently working on.