Town administrator Sutherland resigns

After six and a half years as Lubec town administrator, John Sutherland has decided it is time for a change. Contingent on final approval by the Lincoln Town Council, set to vote on December 12, he will move to Penobscot County, where he will become town manager of a municipality with a population better than three times the size of Lubec.
The announcement of Sutherland's plan came as a surprise to most in Lubec. Select board Chair Carol Dennison was traveling when the call came, just hours before it appeared on social media on December 6, linked from a newspaper account based on information provided by Lincoln authorities. "It was a little sudden," Sutherland admits.
When asked which of the town projects carried out during his time in Lubec he was most proud of, Sutherland was characteristically modest. "It was getting the people of the town to work together to make all these things happen." There are a number of major projects for which he could claim significant credit, including the new town sand/salt shed, the public works garage, the recreational pier, the micro-enterprise grant that benefitted a number of small businesses, the Columbian Packing Company plant brownfield project, as well as many smaller initiatives.
"I didn't vote to hire him," says Selectman Joanne H. Case, "but now I think the world of him." Case has been involved with the select board for many years, starting well before Sutherland's time. "John is self‑taught," she says, "and he's a great grant writer. He just gets things done. We're going to miss him."
The primary reason for the move, says Sutherland, is to be closer to Ashland, where his family lives. "It's four hours each way from Lubec," he says, "and two hours from Lincoln." He adds, "I've made a lot of friends here. I'm going to miss the town."
One of the multi‑year projects he has shepherded is the new town public works garage, an endeavor that spans the tenure of three select board chairmen but is now nearing completion. Initially voted down by the town in September 2012 in a meeting that attracted 121 voters, Sutherland went to work in a low‑key manner, speaking to detractors one at a time. "None of them thought the old place was what we wanted," he says, referring to the crumbling 50-year-old structure. "But they thought the price was a bit much." The second try, in January of 2015, came closer but still fell short. Meanwhile, the bitter winter of 2014‑15 had town crews performing emergency plow repairs while lying in the snow and mud in front of the old garage, which is too small to accommodate a rigged truck. "I hated to see them doing that," he says, "but there was no other way. The roads had to be plowed."
In March of 2015, with memories of February's "stormzilla" still fresh, voters unanimously approved construction of the new sand/salt storage building, presented as a separate project from the garage and mostly funded by grants that Sutherland obtained. That meeting took less than 20 minutes, setting a record for brevity.
For the garage, the third try was the charm. Using plans based on those prepared by an ad‑hoc committee of interested residents, on May 26 voters approved the project by a 37‑4 vote, permitting a construction schedule such that the building is expected to be operational before this winter sets in. Sutherland's persistent approach, commenced five years earlier, has resulted in a modern facility that the town expects to use for many years. "All I did," he says, "was try to give people what they wanted."
On December 7 the Lubec Select Board held a special meeting to accept Sutherland's resignation, effective December 30, and to formulate plans for finding his replacement. "
We hope to find someone with financial experience," says select board Chair Carol Dennison. An ad will be placed in The Quoddy Tides, but interested parties are urged to contact the town office immediately. Following legal advice from the Maine Municipal Association, Dennison will oversee daily activities until a suitable replacement is hired. Sutherland has promised to be available by telephone to provide assistance if necessary.