BETHEL – A longtime town employee and volunteer fire department lieutenant was appointed Monday night as Bethel’s public works director.

Scott Sumner, 35, of Bethel succeeds former Director Robert Pilgrim, who has assumed part-time status with the town in conjunction with a retirement strategy, said Town Manager Scott Cole.

“The Bethel community is fortunate to have Mr. Sumner in this post,” Cole said Tuesday in a press release.

The public works director is charged with proper construction and maintenance of the town’s infrastructure – its streets, roads, sidewalks, signs, drainage systems, traffic systems, outdoor lighting, parking lots, recreation areas and related facilities.

The town maintains more than 60 miles of roadway, Cole added.

Sumner will also oversee the handling and removal of solid waste and recyclable materials.

The combined expenditure of all areas under the director’s supervision is roughly $1 million annually, half of Bethel’s municipal budget, Cole added.

Following a six-month probationary period, Sumner will be paid an annual salary of $35,687.

Cole said service to Bethel runs in the Sumner family. His father and great-grandfather have worked for the town.

“Scott brings significant experience and in-depth knowledge of local conditions to the job. … He has performed all of the numerous, ongoing and widely varied tasks assigned to the town crew,” Cole added.

Sumner was raised in Bethel, and is a 1986 graduate of Telstar High School. He attended New Hampshire Vocational and Technical School in Berlin, and he is a Maine Department of Transportation-certified roads scholar.

Sumner, who has been an active firefighter and town employee since 1989, and wife, Lorraine, have two children, Nick and Katie.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com

Copy the Story Link