Susan Cooper: Mark Stankiewicz’s Successes Too Many To List

/, 2 Comments

The following letter was published in local newspapers and is shared with us here by the author Susan Cooper. Susan Cooper is a member of the Charlestown Town Council.


At the January 23 Charlestown Town Council meeting I voted with a heavy heart and profound regret to accept the resignation of Mark Stankiewicz, our outstanding town administrator. I voted as I did to forestall Mark’s firing by a hostile majority of the town council who sought to dismiss him despite his excellent 10-year record of service. Mark’s departure is tragic for our town but supporting the resignation assured him a dignified departure and a reasonable severance package. Mark had no wish to leave Charlestown, but certain members of the Town Council made it impossible for him to remain.

In working with Mark, I have found his performance superior in all areas of his responsibility — an opinion echoed in every yearly performance review conducted since he was hired in 2013. Mark has been an effective, responsive and unstintingly courteous colleague who enjoys the enthusiastic support and admiration of our dedicated and talented town staff.

Mark’s contributions to the town are numerous and substantial. To cite a few:

  • Consistently maintaining Charlestown’s tax rate as one of the lowest in the state.
  • Through the tireless efforts of our Building Department under Joseph Warner achieving a 20% discount on residential flood insurance under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region 1 Community Rating System — the first such achievement in New England.
  • Updating and obtaining approval for the town’s Comprehensive, All-Hazards, and Harbor Management plans in collaboration with Jane Weidman, town planner; Kevin Gallup, emergency manager; and Justin Vail, former harbormaster, respectively.
  • Working with current Chief Michael Paliotta and former Chief Jeffrey Allen to secure the first and subsequent Rhode Island Police Accreditation Commission accreditations of our police department.
  • Championing the trailblazing initiatives of excellent staff such as Stephen McCandless, geographic information systems (GIS), and Matt Dowling environmental scientist and on-site wastewater manager.
  • Initiating a town-wide risk analysis by the Government Finance Officers Association to determine minimal acceptable reserve funds and adopt a budget surplus policy cited in Moody’s Investor Services as an example of “efforts by management to be financially accountable to residents.”
  • Completion of a 2021 town-wide opinion survey yielding strong positive responses regarding the quality of life in our town, its direction and provision of services.
  • A vital, dynamic Parks and Recreation program featuring beaches, sports programs, biking and hiking trails, summer camps and entertainment under the direction of Vicky Hilton.
  • Construction of affordable housing communities at ChurchWoods and Shannock Village.
  • Supporting ongoing paving and public works improvement projects under the direction of Alan Arsenault, director of public works.

Due to limited space this is a partial list that unfortunately also fails to include the contributions of many other dedicated staff members. But Mark never failed to recognize these contributions-another indication of his strong leadership. For all of these reasons, Mark’s departure is a dark day for Charlestown—where the baseless objections of certain councilors have overwhelmed the best interests of the town.

Thank you Mark! We are grateful for your service to Charlestown.

Susan Cooper
Susan Cooper

 

 

 

You can learn more about the author, Susan Cooper, at her profile page.