Portage Lake’s Sinclair to retire as town manager
Staff Writer
PORTAGE LAKE – After serving as the town manager of Portage Lake for more than a decade, Rita Sinclair said she’s decided to move on.
“I made the decision at the beginning of the year to retire,” she said. “There have been some family matters that really made me stop and realize that I’m up here by myself. While I have cousins and an aunt up this way, there’s no one that I’m really close to.
“There’s a two-and-a-half hour drive on a good day to reach family,” said Sinclair, “and it got me thinking, I’ve put 10 and a-half years in here and it’s time to move on. I’m retiring from municipal government, but I’m going to have to work.”
Sinclair was hired as the Portage Lake town manager in September 1999.
“For a little town [population 390], it’s been busy because you’re not just the town manager, you’re also the tax collector, treasurer, general assistance administrator, road commissioner and secretary to the board of selectpersons,” she said. “There are many hats and nobody to delegate to. There’s only two of us here in the office … Kathy Gagnon, town clerk, and myself. We’re both usually very busy.”
Prior to the Portage Lake post, Sinclair was interim town manager in Corinna.
“I then decided I needed to step out and see what else was out there,” she said. “That brought me to Portage Lake.”
The town has advertised the managerial position in the local newspaper, as well as the Bangor Daily News and on the Maine Municipal Association’s Web site. The deadline for applications is March 31.
“I am anticipating that I will probably be done here in May,” said Sinclair. “The selectpeople will be doing interviews in April and I have been asked if I would be willing to stay on to help the new person get acclimated. I said that I would unless I find a job in the interim.
“I’m hoping they hire somebody that has some municipal experience because there’s a lot more to this job than meets the eye,” she said.
Though Sinclair has enjoyed her time in Portage, she’s looking forward to being closer to family in the Bangor area.
“I’m missing watching my granddaughters grow up,” she said. “Abigail is 8 and Irene is 5, and Grammy has yet to make cookies with them. My three children are all downstate, too, so it will be good to be closer to them.
“The County is such a beautiful place. My parents both originated from Aroostook County. I was three when we moved downstate. There’s always going to be a draw here. Family’s the reason that I wouldn’t stay, but I will definitely be back to visit,” said Sinclair. “I’ve met so many really nice people … people that make you feel at home. Ten years is a long time to give in this career field, and it’s time to move on. I want to see what else is out there.”
