By virtue of a new contract, the Town of Windham will continue to tap into the experience, expertise, and leadership abilities of Barry Tibbetts as town manager.
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| Barry Tibbetts has served as the Town Manager for Windham since November 2019 and the Windham Town Council renewed his contract for three years during a meeting on Tuesday evening. FILE PHOTO |
In extending a new contract to Tibbetts, councilors authorized him to perform the functions and duties of the town manager and to hold all offices as specified in the town's charter and to complete other duties and functions.
Under terms of the contract, Windham will pay Tibbetts an annual base salary of $160,741.80, which Phyllis Moss, the town’s human resources director detailed in a memo for councilors as being in line with compensation for other town managers leading nearby communities.
Based upon the new agreement, Tibbetts would receive cost-of-living adjustments for town employees starting in July 2023 based upon results of his annual performance evaluation. He would also be eligible for a longevity increase should he stay through the third year of the contract in Fiscal Year 2025-2026.
“I would just like to thank Barry for his efforts,” said Windham councilor David Nadeau. “He’s done a phenomenal job moving us forward.”
Councilor Jarrod Maxfield agreed with Nadeau’s assessment.
“I truly believe if you had not come to Windham when you did that we would not be in the position that we are in,” Maxfield told Tibbetts. “Windham is getting a lot more than we’re paying for.”
In August, Tibbetts was honored with the Maine Town, City and County Management Association’s 2022 Leadership Award during the association’s annual convention at Sugarloaf. The award is presented to recognize a Public Administrator in the state for a particularly bold and innovative project or for solving an unusually difficult problem and then playing a key role in developing the project as well as in implementing it.
In nominating Tibbetts for the award, Windham Town Council members and Bob Burns, Windham assistant town manager, representing Windham town staff, wrote that Tibbetts stepped up and led the way for Windham in getting major projects such Windham’s new wastewater treatment solution for North Windham, development of a connector road system to alleviate traffic congestion in the Route 302 corridor and Windham’s approval of the East Windham Conservation Project where hundreds of acres are being conserved by the town for recreational use.
“These achievements that needed Barry’s motivation, tutelage and leadership are wins for him and major wins for the Town of Windham and its residents,” Burns said in his nomination letter.
Windham voters attending the Annual Town Meeting last June approved a proposal for the town to join a partnership with Presumpscot Regional Land Trust to purchase and conserve 661 acres near Little Duck Pond in East Windham in a project called the East Windham Conservation Project. The project will acquire forested acreage for recreational opportunities in Windham while also adding 1,545 feet of undeveloped water frontage on Little Duck Pond, the 150-acre Deer Wintering Area for hunting, and the 580-foot Atherton Hill, the tallest hill in Windham.
As part of the project, Lands for Maine’s Future awarded Windham $998,000 to help fund the initiative and voters approved a bond to match the LMF award with town open space impact fees so there is no impact upon the mil rate for local homeowners.
During a Windham referendum in June 2022, voters approved a proposed $40.4 million sewer and wastewater treatment project for North Windham championed by Tibbetts. Some 71 percent of voters cast ballots in favor of the measure after a different sewer proposal was rejected by Windham voters in 2012. The project will not raise taxes and all but $500,000 is covered to pay for the initiative through a combination of grant funding, a $38.9 million award by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and North Windham TIF funding supported by North Windham businesses.
A new wastewater treatment facility on the grounds of Manchester School will be built as part of the project and addresses pressing environmental issues by removing thousands of pounds of nitrogen and phosphorus being dumped by septic systems into the aquifer and watershed. It also is intended to stimulate significant economic growth and development in the North Windham area from industry and businesses not willing to locate there previously because of septic system issues and associated costs.
As town manager, Tibbetts also is leading an effort to alleviate persistent traffic congestion in North Windham along Route 302 through creation of a system of new access roads and sophisticated high-tech traffic signals. In January 2022, the Windham Town Council adopted a study that puts forward a phased plan to build connector roads in the next few years.
For years, heavy traffic during peak travel times is an ongoing problem along the Route 302 corridor from the intersection of Route 115 to Franklin Road and has caused congestion, motorist delays and a high accident rate for motorists in the town. The issue has been studied repeatedly for decades, but now a potential solution is at hand.
Tibbetts joined Windham after serving 24 years in municipal roles with the Town of Kennebunk, retiring there as Town Manager in 2017. Along the way he acquired extensive municipal experience and experience in local government, administrative operations, budgeting, regulatory functions, and community relations.
Before accepting the interim town manager job for Windham, Tibbetts worked with a small energy start-up business and developed a consulting business in energy and governmental services. He earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Southern Maine, and he also earned an MBA degree during his career in government. He also holds credentialed certifications from both the ICMA and MCTMA.
He is married and the father of three daughters. <
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