Town manager receives enthusiastic review

WINSTED — At Town Manager Dale Martin’s insistence, the Board of Selectmen held Martin’s six-month job performance review in public at the selectmen’s meeting on Monday, Nov. 7, the day before the municipal election.At the beginning of the review, Martin went through a list of goals he set for himself at the start of his tenure as town manager. The goals were in community, economic, staff, professional and personal development.Martin admitted to the selectmen that he failed to meet all of the goals he had set.“To be honest with you, I completely underestimated the challenges that this community faces,” Martin said. “I look forward to meeting these challenges. This will be intriguingly challenging for the next several years. I think this community needs to take a long, hard look at itself to determine the direction it wants to go. All in all, the direction I take the town lies with the Board of Selectmen. So it’s not where I want to take the town, it’s about how you want me to help lead you in the direction you want to take the town.”Under community goals, Martin said his goal was to have a new website up and running by Aug. 1. Martin said he did not accomplish this, but that he hopes to have it completed by the end of November.As for submitting a Safe Routes to Schools application grant by Aug. 1, Martin admitted he did not do that.“I did not fully understand the application requirements,” Martin said. “It turns out that in order to apply for the grant, you have to conduct a survey at the start and end of the school year. I was unaware of that.”The third and fourth goals, developing a complete streets concept for Main Street and securing a $500,000 grant to restore Soldiers’ Monument, both have deadlines of Dec. 31.In other categories, Martin said he failed to prepare a river district redevelopment plan for structures along Mad River, and he did not have the chance to take a nonprofessionally related class at Northwestern Connecticut Community College.However, he did develop a Capital Improvement Plan, met individually with town department supervisors to craft goals and challenges, conducted an off-site team-building exercise and maintained his status as a credentialed city manager through the International City/County Managers Association.Board gives praiseIn response, Selectman Karen Beadle said Martin set lofty goals for himself.“Especially considering that, since you have started, we have had an earthquake, a hurricane and a nor’easter,” Beadle said. “I think these are goals that we all have to work on. I can’t imagine anyone who comes in and sits next to you would do anything differently. I think that you have done all you could have done given the circumstances. Look at the past six months — it has been a lot of things to grasp, and you have done an admirable job.”Mayor Candy Perez was next to heap praise on Martin.“I know you are talking about how you did not achieve certain goals at this time, but we all recognize the fact that you have made a lot of inroads while you are here,” Perez said. “I would like to cite you for your attendance at state and regional events. I also would like to also cite you for meeting with local businesses and local events. Whether it has been a parade or anything else, you have been a presence on that.”Perez also praised Martin for his work on Brownfield grants and his accessibility to the selectmen.“You have a willingness to work with staff in Town Hall, you have put time into going into the departments to see what they do and see the different areas that the town has, and the challenges that they face,” Perez said.In his review of Martin, Selectman George Closson cited Martin’s handling of the recent power outage.“Whenever there is a crisis in some fashion, it brings out the best in people,” Closson said. “You have a military background, and in situations like we faced, people have to depend on it. I appreciate the efforts with what you have done.”Selectman Lisa Smith agreed with Closson.“The only constructive criticism I have for your next board is the disbursement of information,” Smith said. “Just make sure all of the selectmen get all of the information at the same time.”And, in a rare show of unity, the compliments continued with the rest of the selectmen.“I think we picked the right man for the job,” Selectman Glenn Albanesius said. “I appreciate working with you. You are dedicated and enthusiastic about this town, and I think you have a future here.”Selectman Michael Renzullo said he liked how Martin viewed the town with “a fresh set of eyes.”“I’m looking forward to seeing what you do with these inroads that you have made over the next few years,” Renzullo said. “If I’m re-elected, I look forward to working with you over the next few years.”Selectman Ken Fracasso added that Martin has done a good job over the last six months, given the circumstances that he has faced.“I feel badly that he has been bogged down with so many daily ‘fires,’ ” Fracasso said. “I’m looking forward to you getting involved in doing stuff that will help us move forward.”