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A Q&A with Sudbury’s New Town Manager, Andrew Sheehan
1 — You just wrapped up a long run as Town Administrator in Middleton. What will you miss most about Middleton and the role you had there?
Yes, I was the Town Administrator in Middleton for the past 7 years. The thing I will miss most is the team. We had a great team. They were self-motivated and worked well together. Together we got a lot done, including stabilizing the town’s finances, acquiring land and securing funding for a large public facilities project, and making Town Meeting more efficient.
2 — You are getting started as Sudbury’s Town Manager right now, what’s the most exciting part of onboarding? What’s giving you energy right now?
There is a lot to dig into in Sudbury. It is a complex community with a very engaged citizenry. Peeling back the layers to better understand how things work here is exciting. So is getting out and meeting people. I have held a number of drop in sessions/Town Manager office hours. These have been very well attended. A lot of information comes at me at these sessions, but it is energizing.
3 — In your interview with the Select Board you talked a bit about your ties to this area of Massachusetts. Can you give readers/residents a quick overview of your knowledge of /experience with our “neck of the woods”?
I grew up in Acton and lived there until about 5 years ago. I went to Acton-Boxboro and played football against L-S. And my kids, who are now grown, went through the Acton/A-B schools. Acton and Sudbury share a lot of common traits: common histories, common landscape, a longstanding appreciation of and commitment to protect open space, and passionate residents who place a premium on excellent schools and municipal services.
4 — Your first day as Sudbury’s Town Manager, coincidentally, overlapped with our annual “Capital Night,” which is a key moment during budget season. It can be a challenge to take the reins of a process that’s already in motion. What’s your strategy/approach?
The time of year that I started my position is a bit of a challenge. While it would have been ideal to start a few months earlier, I didn’t get to choose the timing. Day 1 was certainly a long intro. The capital meeting went until almost midnight. Because I was not involved in the development of the capital budget I let Maryanne Bilodeau take the lead. She and Dennis Keohane put the spending plans together and it made sense to leave it in their hands. I was fortunate to have about three months to transition out of Middleton and start to get up to speed in Sudbury. I used the transition time before I started and since I arrived to learn about the capital projects as well as the operating budget. I look forward to the Annual Town Meeting on May 1 when I get to present the Fiscal Year 2024 spending plans to the voters.
5 — You’ve had a successful career in municipal government, and that was the focus of a lot of the interview process last year. But what do you want Sudbury residents to know about you as a person?
I am really grateful to have had the opportunity to work in a variety of communities and roles and to participate in a number of interesting and challenges projects. I live in Chelmsford with my partner, Kaari and her son. My children are grown – James lives in New York City and Julia lives in Somerville. My mom still lives in Acton. I love what I do and I take my work very seriously, but do not take myself too seriously. When I am not working I like to play guitar, fly fish, and work around my house and yard.
6 — Is there a moment in your career that you’re particularly proud of? Can you tell us about it?
I am really proud that we were able to make significant progress in Middleton in addressing the facilities needs of the community. The Town struggled for about 50 years to figure out a solution to its fire station. The station was too small and the lot was too small to expand the station. Close behind were the police station and senior center. In fact, the police station had been the Danvers station. It was purchased for a dollar in the early 1980’s and moved to its current location. In 2019 Middleton was successful in acquiring a golf course. The owners were ready to retire and they preferred to not see the land intensively developed for residential or commercial uses. We agreed to buy the property at a below market price in return for protecting about half of the 52 acres as permanent open space. In 2021 we were successful in getting funding for a combined public safety building and combined community center/town hall. I am really pleased we were able to get that done.
7 — Everybody has those experiences where they learned an important lesson and carried that wisdom with them for the rest of their lives. What’s one of yours?
Think big and think with a long view. I’ll go back to the facilities project in Middleton. This had long been a conundrum. At my first Town Meeting I asked for funding to look at the buildings and evaluate space needs. We did the initial analysis and kept talking about our buildings, highlighting their deficiencies, stressing the cost to run them and to make repairs to obsolete buildings. Keeping this issue front and center while not getting distracted led to the acquisition of the land that would solve the problem. Two years after that we got the funding for design and construction. Taking a long view and staying focused rather than jumping at a lesser opportunity led us to a comprehensive solution.
8 — Which pizza place in Sudbury is the best? Just kidding, don’t answer that! This question is your chance to add any thoughts you might have as you get started, or to answer a question I didn’t think to ask.
Your questions were pretty comprehensive. I’ll just add that I do my best to be active in the community. I find it is necessary in order for me to be effective. I will be at community events of all types, office hours, and the like. Please say hello or otherwise reach out to me.
Thanks for the opportunity to weigh in on Sudbury Weekly.