WESTFIELD — At the joint meeting of the Public Works and Water Commission on Dec. 7, commissioners voted to declare the search for the director of public works a failure, following the decision by Jeffrey Gamelli not to accept the position. Gamelli chose to stay on in his previous position as deputy superintendent of the DPW’s Wastewater Division.
Following the unanimous vote, Commissioner Ron Cole said the next item on the agenda would be whether to accept or send back the job description as written. He asked, given the recent discussion at the City Council on Dec. 1 to take a look at restructuring the Public Works and Water departments, whether a job search is needed at this time.
“If we do pursue a candidate for this opening, and that does in fact change, does that put the candidate in the situation that he doesn’t have a job to apply for,” Cole asked.
Personnel Director Anne Larkham said she also heard that discussion at the City Council meeting.
“I can’t really advise you as to what you should do as a group,” she said, adding that deliberation of the position was on the agenda, which could include whether to delay the search. “I guess that’s what you could decide to do,” Larkham said.
At the Dec. 1 meeting, Councilors Ralph Figy, Michael Burns and John Beltrandi introduced a motion to have the Legislative and Ordinance Subcommittee and the city Law Department review the ordinance that governs the DPW.
“I think it’s come time to take a serious look at that to see whether or not we want to proceed with the way it is, or do we want to revert back to where it was,” Figy said at the meeting.
Figy was referring in his comment to reverting the department back to the way it was structured prior to the merger of the Public Works and Water departments under one director in 2015. Burns said before that reorganization, there was a superintendent for water resources and a superintendent for public works.
At the Dec. 7 meeting, Cole asked the joint commissioners if any of them felt they should pursue a job search at this time.
Commissioner Steve White said he thought it would be prudent to wait and see. He said if they were able to get a candidate in two months, and then in three months the council voted to go back to having two separate departments, it would be a waste of everybody’s time, including the possible candidate.
“Until the city can decide what to do, we’re spinning our wheels,” White said.
Commissioner Brian Richards said the Charter Committee had been looking at combining the policy boards into one commission for the two departments, and now the Legislative and Ordinance Subcommittee under Figy is talking about separate superintendents.
“I agree, I don’t think we want to hire somebody that’s going to turn around and be out of a job,” Richards said, adding that in the interim, the commission should formalize an arrangement with Francis Cain as interim director.
White asked if they needed to make a vote of confidence in Cain that he can run the department that he’s been running, as acting director and assistant director of public works, for two years.
“We need something concrete that we feel he’s the person to take the reins for the time being,” Richards said.
Also in agreement were commissioners John Niedzielski and Thomas Pereira.
“I’m in agreement. I don’t think it’s a great idea for us to move ahead with the interview process again, with the uncertainty. I don’t know if we make a recommendation to the City Council, in terms of what we think is best for the city,” Niedzielski said, adding, " I also feel something needs to be done in the interim for Fran.”
Niedzielski suggested giving their recommendations on a direction to the City Council.
“It doesn’t make sense to interview and place a candidate if the whole structure is going to be different,” he said.
Larkham said Cain’s current personal service agreement does have language that in the absence of a DPW director that he serves as acting director.
“It’s our desire that Fran could continue to do what he’s doing today,” Cole said.
“The Charter Commission is addressing partially the issue of the combined departments in January, when they get through talking about how to fill vacancies. As far as splitting and going through L&O, I haven’t heard anything about it,” Richards said.
Cole asked if the other commissioners felt comfortable with the job description as written, and whether it was suitable for the candidate they would want for the combined department.
“I never felt comfortable with it. I think they went overboard,” White said.
“In a department this size, somebody has got to have experience as a good-size manager. That part could be expanded,” RIchards said.
“I think it’s the general consensus of the combined boards that we are not comfortable as a group pursuing candidates until we get clarity on the position,” Cole said.
“Will that position exist; what will that role be that we will be interviewing for, or will we even be interviewing for it. We have consensus of the two boards on the candidate search,” he said..
Richards said the job description could change depending on which way the council goes.
“Until we get direction from the City Council, the mayor and the visioning committee, we are not comfortable moving forward,” Cole said.
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