AMHERST — Since COVID-19 started to impact town operations in mid-March, progress on some goals for the town manager, such as pursuing economic development, combating climate change, and improving the transportation infrastructure for pedestrians and bicyclists have been delayed.
Understanding this, members of the Town Council — in individual reviews being compiled into a composite draft memo by Council President Lynn Griesemer — are giving Paul Bockelman mostly good marks for his performance this year.
“We look forward to your continued success in the many critical areas of town management, and we look forward to the progress and new successes you will achieve,” the draft memo states.
Councilors are providing tweaks to the memo, which will be finalized at the council’s Aug. 31 meeting. That evening, there will also be an executive session to discuss Bockelman’s contract and compensation.
Griesemer said Tuesday that the challenge in this year’s review was goals were set in January, before the outbreak. “He’s provided terrific leadership to the town during the COVID crisis and continues to do so,” Griesemer said.
Bockelman scored highly in five of the seven evaluation areas, including for fiscal management, personnel management, community engagement and intergovernmental relations, economic development and relationship to the town council. Evaluation areas where he fell short included climate action and long-term planning.
In a self-evaluation submitted in July, Bockelman noted the extensive work to focus on municipal operations during a pandemic.
In addition to the councilors, the review is based on a 13.7% response rate from staff, 23 responses from members and chairs of committees, and nine from the public.
In her individual review, Griesemer wrote that Bockelman’s handling of COVID-19 has been exemplary. “From Day One, he and his team have provided outstanding leadership that has helped keep the town’s residents healthy,” Griesemer wrote.
“The town manager has provided strong leadership during the pandemic in navigating the health and safety concerns of our town residents,” District 5 Councilor Shalini Bahl-Milne wrote.
The councilors noted that one aspect they like is Bockelman’s appreciation for town staff, with District 3 Councilor George Ryan observing that his “frequent praise and highlighting staff accomplishments strikes me as genuine.” Ryan credited Bockelman for hires that included Finance Director Sean Mangano, Principal Assessor Elizabeth Duffy and Town Clerk Shavena Martin.
This was echoed by District 4 Councilor Evan Ross. “I have appreciated him bringing in nontraditional hires and considering their vision for a department as much as their qualifications,” Ross wrote.
But there are councilor concerns about stress on employees.
“He does a great job dealing with difficult situations, but must not overload town workers to avoid burnout,” District 3 Councilor Dorothy Pam. “He’s a great boss, but a very demanding one.”
“There seems to be a problem with staff retention,” District 5 Councilor Darcy DuMont wrote. “We hire excellent people and then they leave. It’s unclear to me what the problem is.” She cited the recent departures of Economic Development Director Geoff Kravitz to become Sunderland’s town administrator and Human Resources Director Evelyn Rivera-Riffenburg returning to Chicopee.
Praise for listening and talking to the community came from At-Large Councilor Andy Steinberg, who has lived in town through six permanent and interim town managers.
“Of these six managers, Paul’s outreach and community communications are the ‘gold standard,’” Steinberg, pointing to Bockelman’s periodic Cuppa Joe events.
A lack of improving non-motorized options for transportation was mentioned. “The DPW focus appears to be cars and roundabouts, rather than lowering speed limits, installing cross-walks in multiple areas, and proceeding with sidewalk studies or repairs,” District 1 Councilor Cathy Schoen wrote.
Economic development through the Destination Amherst plan and partnership with the Business Improvement District on improving downtown Amherst also got sidetracked.
“While this plan may have been derailed by the pandemic, it showed a commitment to improving our downtown through diverse means, and an encouraging willingness to engage in public private partnerships to achieve infrastructure improvements,” Ross wrote.
