Staff Writer
HOULTON — The town of Houlton finally has a new manager in place, ending a six-month search.
Eugene Conlogue, a Houlton native, was unanimously approved as Houlton’s next town manager during Monday evening’s council meeting.
MEETING — New Town Manager Eugene Conlogue, left, speaks with Interim Manager Cathy O’Leary during Monday night’s council meeting.
Council Chairman Paul Cleary said he was excited to have Conlogue on board.
“Gene was one of the candidates who applied during the second round of applicants and was one of our top choices,” Cleary said. “He was one of the candidates that could start working day one, which was a plus. His professionalism and experience are a big assets.”
“We are very fortunate to have someone of your caliber coming on board with us,” said councilor Sue Tortello at Monday night’s council meeting. “I am really excited too that you are active in Service Center coalition. I think that will position us very well as a town because we will have a really strong voice in that organization.”
“I am looking forward to working with you, as I know we all are,” added O’Leary.
Most recently, Conlogue served as Millinocket’s town manager, a position he held from July 1999 until tendering his resignation to take the post in Houlton. He also served as a town manger in Gouldsboro (January-July, 1999), Fort Fairfield (July 1996-June 1998) and Washburn (November 1991-July 1996). He also has extensive background in hotel and restaurant management.
Assistant Town Manager and Town Clerk Cathy O’Leary has served as the interim town manager since Doug Hazlett’s departure on March 23. Hazlett, who was hired in 2005, left his position to take a job with MMG Insurance in Presque Isle. Conlogue’s first day with the town is Monday, Oct. 15.
During his tenure in Millinocket, Conlogue lived in an apartment, while maintaining a permanent residence in Presque Isle. Cleary surmised that a similar arrangement would likely take place in Houlton.
“The last town manager that actually lived in the town was Alan Bean,” Cleary said. “And that was way back in 1999.”
Neither Peggy Daigle, who succeeded Bean, nor Hazlett had a residence in Houlton.
“Gene will be spending his money in the town and will have an apartment,” Cleary said. “Would we like to have him purchase property? Of course. But you can’t not hire an individual based on that.”
In an interview with the Houlton Pioneer Times, Conlogue said he was thrilled to have an opportunity to come back home to Houlton, a place where he lived as a child. He attended St. Mary’s Catholic School
“I have many fond memories of the community,” he said. “Houlton is also the regional service center for Southern Aroostook and it draws commerce not only from the County, but also western New Brunswick. It is a major gateway into the U. S. from Canada. When the position came open a second time after the first search did not result in a candidate, I decided to apply.”
Conlogue said he looks forward to meeting and serving the public along with the excellent staff that is already in place.
One of the biggest obstacles for Houlton, he said, is the same challenge facing most every community in Maine — economic development.
“For decades, Aroostook County’s biggest export has been its young people who leave us to find employment,” he said. “I want to assess Houlton’s economic development program to evaluate its goals, successes, opportunities, and challenges to see what, if anything, can be strengthened.
“I will also be reviewing the organization for ways to hold the line on taxes while providing quality services,” he continued. “The efficient, effective, and economic uses of resources to meet the service goals of the town are of high importance. I also want to work with the business community to evaluate their views of the town and listen to any suggestions they may have to improve the economic climate.”
Conlogue added he was a part of a hard-working team of councilors and staff members that brought new opportunities to Millinocket over the past 13 years in a time of continued paper mill layoffs, dramatic loss of population, and increasing pressures for services.
“I have negotiated or re-negotiated four tax-increment financing districts, led efforts to develop a walking and biking trail along both sides of the Millinocket Stream, assisted in the creation of the area’s first multi-use recreational trail, and held the line on net municipal expenditures,” he said. “In fact, the town’s mil rate decreased five consecutive years in the mid-2000s.”
