There was no hesitation for the Marion Board of Selectmen in selecting the town’s next superintendent of the Department of Public Works – David Willett, with his “been there, done that” experience, as Chairman Norm Hills put it, in leading a department exactly where Marion hopes to go with its own DPW.
It sounded uncanny, the events that led up to Willett’s Friday, March 29 interview as one of two finalists – leaving the Denver, Colorado suburb of Northglenn after 20 years in the field, in both private sector consulting and in municipal management, back to his native Massachusetts to discover Marion’s seemingly tailored-for-him position seeking exactly the experience Willet has to offer.
Amidst a steady stream of misfortune on the public works front, Willett gave the Board of Selectmen something to smile about – the perfect combination of enthusiasm and experience the board wanted.
“In general, I’ve done just about everything this town is going through now,” said Willett. “I could lend a good quantity of expertise and guide you through some of this stuff.”
Willett’s prior position involved nearly identical upgrades to a lagoon-based wastewater treatment facility like Marion’s, the reorganization of a DPW, establishing a software-driven work order system, overhauling a solid waste curbside pickup and transfer station system, sewer infiltration and inflow identification and reduction, and capital planning – all at the top of the priority list for Marion.
And that is all in addition to his enduring devotion to the Red Sox and the Patriots, a “prerequisite” of sorts, Town Administrator Paul Dawson joked, and Selectman John Waterman couldn’t resist expressing his affinity for another guy with a receding hairline.
Willett was familiar with the town’s recent report from its DPW organizational study and remarked on how he found it to be “a pretty decent report as a whole”, further commenting, “I’d love to be able to help you with some of this stuff.”
Willett and his wife moved into the house they built in Carver a few years ago, which they rented out while still living in Colorado. After relocating, Willett said he soon started looking for a position in his field of work and found Marion’s employment posting.
“I saw this job and said, ‘Holy cow it’s just what I was doing,’ and it intrigued me,” Willett said.
“You guys have got a lot of stuff going on,” said Willett. “You’ve got some really good stuff coming up.”
The board was ready to take a vote within moments after Willett, the second interview that day, left the room.
The board also interviewed Ed Buckley of Rochester, the current DPW director for the Town of Raynham.
Waterman said it was clear to him that Willett had the scope of experience the town needed.
“Not only that, but the specificity of it,” said Hills.
“He was by far the strongest candidate,” said Waterman. “I just hope we can keep someone like that for a while.”
“I was impressed by what he knew … as it relates to the challenges we face and the fact that he’s ‘been there, done that,’” Hills said.
Willet was offered the position, pending successful contract negotiations with Willett for the six-figure salary position.
Marion Board of Selectmen
By Jean Perry