Blue Hill Originally published in The Weekly Packet, June 30, 2022 Blue Hill select board appoints Nadeau new town administrator

The Blue Hill Select Board met on Monday night, June 27, and appointed a new town administrator, Nicholas Nadeau. He is expected to start on August 1.

“Finding highly qualified employees is tough these days, and as has been widely reported, finding people to serve in municipal positions is even tougher,” said Ellen Best, chair of the select board, in a press release. “We were looking for someone who could take the Town Administrator position to a higher level. It took us nearly six months, but we found the right person for the job in Nick Nadeau.”

Nadeau is currently assistant town manager for the Town of Waterbury, Vt. According to the release, Nadeau’s municipal experience is “complemented by graduate degrees which have relevance to municipal issues.”

“Nick is smart, energetic and a people-person,” said select board member Jim Dow. Dow has helped lead the search process. “He gets the complexities of small-town government yet has a ‘can do’ attitude. We think that he will serve our Town well, helping us successfully confront the range of complicated issues that we face.”

“I am a New Englander, born and raised, so transitioning to Blue Hill seems like a natural fit,” said Nadeau. “I always said that it would take a special place for me to leave Waterbury. Blue Hill is that special place. My background focuses on community services. I am excited to continue that work in Blue Hill.”

Another point of discussion was the lack of porta-potties in Blue Hill, especially in construction zones. According to select board member Butler Smythe, there is only one in the entire town. He said that factors contributing to this shortage are “major events” such as the Fourth of July in Bar Harbor.

Right now, there is an effort to install four more porta-potties in the town, with locations in the park and South Blue Hill wharf.