New economic development coordinator ‘a great fit’ for Saugus

SAUGUS – Saugus’ new Economic Development Coordinator Robert Luongo said his number one goal is to improve the quality of life in Saugus.Luongo, who started last month, brings more than 30 years of planning and economic development experience to Saugus.Prior to his current role, he worked as the principal planner in Weymouth for seven years, was the chief economic development officer for the non-profit New Bedford Economic Development Council and before that served in the same position for the city of Lawrence for five years.Luongo, who graduated from Merrimack College and holds a master’s in public administration from Northeastern, also worked as the planning and community development director in Chelsea for 11 years.In an interview this week, Luongo said he was attracted to Saugus because it gave him the opportunity to manage a department again and help give direction to the town while working with the town manager.”I have a lot of experience, and I just wanted to utilize all those years as the head of a department that could work with Town Meeting in getting things done,” said Luongo, 63. “I have to say, I really have assimilated into the town very quickly. It’s a friendly town, and it’s easy to get to know the people. My transition hasn’t been difficult at all. I’m surprised by that. I’m happy because it gets me going quicker.”In his first month on the job, Luongo said he’s been getting up to speed on all the issues and needs facing Saugus while figuring out who all the “players” are in town.Luongo has also been meeting regularly with the new Economic Development Committee and plans to meet with other town boards like the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals.”I look at this job as evolving and working with a number of these land-use boards … and trying to work with them to solve their problems and give them advice as well,” said Luongo.Town Manager Scott Crabtree said Luongo has been doing well so far and has “hit the ground running” in his first month.”I think he’s a great asset to the community and to the management team,” said Crabtree. “He’s self-directed and able to pick things up. He’s a great fit here in Saugus.”Crabtree said it’s been “quite a while” since Saugus has had an economic development coordinator and it’s something he’s been working toward since before he became Town Manager.”When I was on the board this is something that we talked about and had discussions with the former manager to bring someone in,” said Crabtree. “It’s been a long road of trying to re-establish this.”Route 1 has long been the top focus when it comes to economic development in Saugus. Luongo said maximizing development on Route 1 will have to be a “balancing act” that takes into consideration the needs of both the business and residential communities.Luongo also said he wants to look at how other towns and cities develop their major corridors.”Route 1 goes all the way south through Norwood and that area,” said Luongo. “We should look at what’s happening on Route 1 in other parts of the metropolitan area. Even Route 9 into the Framingham/Natick area and also get a sense from the real estate brokers and commercial brokers to see what kind of activity they’re seeing, not just on Route 1, but in the Metro-Boston area.”Luongo pointed out that before Route 1 can be developed further, the town needs to understand what’s available there, which is why he said he’s working with Northeastern University to have a survey done of Saugus to see what “deal-makers and deal-breakers” the town has when it comes to attracting development.Luongo said the survey will look at what the town has to offer and will focus on issues like transportation, zoning, infrastructure and available land, and ranks the town based on other communities that have taken the survey.”What are the things that businesses and industries … what are they looking for when they’re looking for sites?” said Luongo. “Are they looking for access to the highway? Are they looking fo