By Gillian Graham

Staff Writer

Jack Turcotte may not be an unfamiliar face in Old Orchard Beach, but he’s still learning the ropes as he tackles a shift in careers.

Turcotte, a 62-year-old Arundel resident and Old Orchard Beach town manager, previously served as superintendent of several school districts throughout Maine. He most recently was superintendent of Sanford school and served one year as superintendent in Old Orchard Beach.

The Augusta native decided to try a new career in municipal management after he became connected to the people of Old Orchard Beach through the schools. He previously served as interim town manager in Ellsworth and says he has enjoyed the challenge of learning about all aspects of town government.

“I really kind of fell in love with the town,” he said.

How did you come to be interim town manager last fall?

I had toyed with this town manager stuff a little bit in the past. And often times, as superintendent, my office was in town hall so it wasn’t like you were a stranger to the town hall environment. So although I was not ever officially a town manager, I certainly was aware of the responsibilities of municipal managing.

Why did you want to stay on as the permanent town manager?

My interim started in October and really lasted until January. I had an inclination that I would enjoy the opportunity to manage the town, but particularly this one. I have to tell you I wasn’t interested in applying for town manager jobs all over the state, I wasn’t looking for a new career. I really liked Old Orchard. I knew the school system pretty well after being there for a year and subsequently knew the town pretty well and the town employees.

One of the attractions for me was the quality of the people who work in the town. I said from the very beginning I think the town is blessed with some really good town employees, people who are dedicated to their job and dedicated to their town and willing to do almost anything asked of them at any time.

I thought the employees were a true asset. They’ve been helpful to me, they’ve been patient with me, they’ve been kind, they’ve been willing to teach me what I didn’t know and, in return, I tried to offer them some solid managerial support and some guidance along the way.

The second thing that brought my attention, believe it or not, was the redevelopment of the Ballpark. I watched the Ballpark go from a state-of-the-art ballpark to ruins in the last 15 years. During the last year, I’ve watched the interest develop in restoring that ballpark.

If you look at the characteristics of Old Orchard Beach, which is a very small geographic area packed very tightly with commercial and residential buildings, right out of nowhere comes 50 acres of undeveloped woodlands. It’s almost too good to be true.

You have a beach, one of the best in the world, and then a quarter of a mile from the beach is the potential for a major attraction for tourists and a way to stimulate the economy.

I see the Ballpark as an anchor store. You need something big and then around that you bring in your supporting enterprises as one whole unit. You’ve given the economy a booster shot.

  What would you like to see down around the Ballpark?

I’d like to see something in harmony with offering something for the tourists. I would also like to see opportunities for the local people, not just in employment.

 Sometimes we forget we have a local resident base of 10,000 people who basically stand second fiddle to the tourists. I’m looking for a cross section of services for both the community and the tourist industry. I think we’re fortunate it’s still pristine land. One example  of what to do with the land is to build cross-country trails or bike paths. If you could run bike trails through the area, you could have a wonderful experience through the Maine woods in highly populated York County.

You might want to have commercial businesses there that support biking, similar to the ski model where you bring in retail to support your natural offerings. My vision is not a mall, it’s not acres of parking lots and shopping carts. My image is utilization of that property to stimulate both the year-round and summer economy. 

Were you familiar with the Ballpark before you came to Old Orchard Beach?

Yes, I knew it way back when it was in operation. Most people in Maine came to games. I also, in the last four or five years since moving south, saw what it wasn’t anymore. It was destroyed and burned and vandalized.

 I guess I can say I saw it at its best and I saw it at its worst. I’m excited about the potential of restoring it to even more than it was before.

 Instead of just a ballpark now, I’m looking at it as a potential community development project. When I got here to fill the town manager’s seat, I sort of got engrossed and connected to the vision of what that ballpark can do for the town and, on a selfish note, I wanted to be part of that, to be part of the team to help that develop.

   What are the differences between managing a town and managing a school department?

The subject matter is different. There’s no question about it. I’m learning a lot about road construction, sewer treatments and planning and codes. But the managing of problems and challenges, the managing of providing a service to people, requires the same skills.

You had parents from time to time who were upset, you have citizens here who are upset. The only thing I’m finding different was in education there was one theme, and that was what was good for kids.

In the municipal arena, the theme is what’s good for the town. I’m finding the difference is I have more diverse departments we have to focus into the same goal of what’s good for the town.

How do you balance the needs of the tourists versus supporting the needs of the year-round community?

You  have to recognize that you can’t forget that, yes this is a tourist town, but its foundation is the local citizens.

The balance is respecting each one’s own individual position in town. You have your property owners, you have property owners who cater to the tourists.

I live under a word: balance. It sets the tone for what I do. The theme I try to operate under is whatever you’re trying to manage, it can’t get out of balance. It’s sort of like raising a family, if you have three kids with three different interests. You try to honor those interests but you also try to put your arms around it and say even though you have different interests, primarily we’re all one family. This community has a very diverse population.

What are your personal goals as town manager? How do you see yourself growing in this job?

One of the highlights for me is that there is a fair amount of new learning for me. I’ve found that real exciting. Not everybody realizes that even if you’ve had a long and successful career, at age 62 you don’t have to give up the opportunity to continue learning.

For me, it’s like a new career to some degree. A lot of people probably wouldn’t have the courage, but I encourage people to do it.

 I wasn’t sure I had the courage to start picking up knowledge about building road and flood plains, but I’m finding it exciting and quite stimulating. Honestly, it almost makes you feel younger again and it’s quite rewarding.