Logic and good manners suggest it makes sense to take the Nahant Board of Selectmen at their word when they say a review of the 25-year-old Town Administrator Act is a matter of routine housekeeping.
Administrator Jeff Chelgren called the review “a healthy practice” and Selectman Enzo Barile said it makes sense to update town bylaws periodically. All of that makes sense and here’s hoping the review is also an opportunity to reaffirm Chelgren as an experienced administrator who is keeping a steady hand on the town’s tiller.
Town Meeting in 2012 voted to order a review of the 1992 Town Administrator Act and, if necessary, make sure the Act is in line with comparable bylaws in other communities. A lot has happened with the town administrator’s job since 2012 and not all of it has been pleasant.
Former Administrator Mark Cullinan left office in 2011 to be succeeded by Andrew Bisignani, who resigned in 2014 amid questions about town finances. Cullinan returned to the administrator’s job that year to guide the town through a transition period that ended with Chelgren’s hiring in 2015.
Anyone familiar with town government in Massachusetts knows that administrators and town managers are the municipal government version of professional sports coaches and managers. They are journeymen and journey women who bring their services to a community until local elected officials decide they don’t want them. Some do a good job, some do not and Chelgren is an example of a good administrator.
His stewardship has seen the town hire a new fire chief and a new librarian. Nahant has seen a new superintendent and new Johnson School principal hired under Chelgren’s tenure.
He has strived to guide the town through debate and decision making over the complicated Coast Guard housing project.
When Town Meeting rejected proposals a year ago for developing the Coast Guard land, Chelgren did not sulk or argue with elected officials. He moved ahead with a resident survey seeking new ideas for the Coast Guard site and the results of that survey are being analyzed by town officials.
Chelgren is the type of leader Nahant needs. He brings a quiet, professional manner to his job. He has demonstrated a concerted effort to understand residents’ views and he brought more than two decades of municipal government experiences to Nahant with his hiring.
The town has many challenges unique to geographic particularity. An island connected by a causeway to the North Shore, the town has land limitations and infrastructure needs typical of most communities surrounded by seawater.
Town residents can benefit from Chelgren’s long-term presence as a capital planner and town budget crafter. Here’s hoping the Town Administrator Act review reinforces the need to keep Nahant abreast of modern municipal governance policy while reinforcing the town’s ability to retain and best employ the skills of proven administrators like Jeff Chelgren.
