When Paul Bockelman reports for work Aug. 22 as the new town manager in Amherst, he will bring a breadth of professional experience and leadership skills that are needed at a challenging time for the community.
Though he was not the first choice to succeed the late John Musante as the sixth permanent town manager for Amherst, Bockelman won respect and support from officials and community leaders who met him during the final stages of a six-month search, as one of three finalists.
Bockelman combines administrative skills through having led the town of Manchester-by-the-Sea from 1986 to 1999, with a broad knowledge of the issues facing communities across the commonwealth and relationships with key political players at the State House resulting from his current job as director of administration and finance for the Massachusetts Municipal Association.
Select Board member Andrew Steinberg described Bockelman as a manager who will command instant respect from employees. “He brings a breadth of experience with him that I think will enable him to do some things very quickly,” Steinberg said. Others praise his expertise with municipal finances and budgeting, his 10 years as a member of the School Committee in Somerville, where he lives, and his commitment to a diverse workforce.
Bockelman lists his work on affordable housing and improving the town’s bond rating by two steps as key accomplishments during his administration of Manchester-by-the-Sea, a North Shore community with about 6,000 residents.
In his letter to the Amherst search committee, Bockelman said this: Much of my personal time over the past decade has been dedicated to improving our schools in Somerville, which serve as the epicenter for our families, especially our immigrant families. … I have chaired the School Committee twice and I most recently chaired the search for a new School Superintendent, and was recognized for orchestrating extensive community involvement and outreach into our immigrant community.”
The selection of Bockelman — who last week agreed to a three-year contract that will pay him $155,000 annually — came after one of the three finalists for town manager withdrew before the Select Board deliberated, and after negotiations broke down with the first choice who was favored initially by a 3-2 vote.
Still, Bockelman maintained that he did not lose his enthusiasm for the job of managing the town of Amherst. He first came to know the community as a student at Hampshire College in the 1970s. “I’m happy and excited to begin work in Amherst,” which he described as a “progressive, caring community.”
It is also a town where Bockelman will be thrust into a number of challenging assignments as he takes over for Peter Hechenbleikner, the interim town manager since Feb. 1. Among his immediate tasks will be selecting a successor to Finance Director Sanford “Sandy” Pooler, who left in January after five years in that job.
Economic development is a critical issue for Amherst, particularly managing growth downtown and in the village centers in North Amherst and South Amherst. Bockelman will want to develop a strong working relationship with the town’s first economic development director, Geoffrey Kravitz, who began work in January.
The town plans four major construction projects during the next decade — rebuilding Wildwood School, renovating and expanding the Jones Library, a new Department of Public Works headquarters and a new fire station for South Amherst – and Bockelman faces major decisions about how they should be financed and in what order they should be pursued. And Bockelman will need to get up to speed quickly on the intricacies of the town’s relationships with the two private colleges and particularly the University of Massachusetts. He must keep the momentum going on recent progress in town-gown relationships, especially through the University-Town of Amherst Collaborative.
Bockelman brings many attributes to the job, leavened by a sense of humor expressed in his letter to the search committee: “I hope you agree that this is a great fit! I mean, who combines professional experience, community leadership, and high social intelligence … with a life-long, multi-generational involvement with Ultimate Frisbee?”
That should serve him well in Amherst.