Looking Over the Accomplishments of the Last 8 Years

By Jim McKenna

It is with mixed emotions that I have decided to move on in my career and explore new professional opportunities.  Today, I end my tenure as your Town Manager.  Looking back over these past nine years, I have been privileged to be a part of what some have described as a transformational time for Winthrop.

When I arrived here in 2009, the town was encumbered with a Consent Decree from the Mass Department of Revenue, the town’s finances were structurally in deficit, with negative “free cash” balances, and Wall Street was considering a down grade of the town’s bond rating.  Much of the town’s infrastructure, buildings and systems were in disrepair and little investment was occurring in the town’s housing stock.  In fact, several neighborhoods were experiencing significant depreciation and criminal activity.

But with the assistance of a supportive Town Council, a good team of Department Heads and town employees, and most importantly the guidance and strong advocacy of Speaker DeLeo, we, as a team began the effort to turn this town around, both in terms of our finances and business operations, and also in terms of the physical landscape of the community.  In a period of nine short years, together we:

1. Built a new Middle-High School
2. Began the reconstruction of Miller Field
3. Repaired all of the town’s parks
4. Improved drainage throughout the town to limit flood surges at Ingleside Park, Veterans Road and Point Shirley and other areas.
5. Repaired the bridge and entrance to town on Main Street.
6. Guided the appropriate redevelopment of the Dalyrymple School, the Temple project, the Arbors (former Winthrop hospital), and the Winthrop nursing home on Pleasant Street.
7. We built a Ferry Terminal Building and started a municipality operated ferry service which is now generating positive revenue to near break-even before the close of its second season.
8. Together we invested substantially in public education and added over $6 million to the school’s bottom line.
9. We were one of the pioneer communities to address the Opiate Crisis with local resources and innovative strategies.
10. We recalibrated and improved Public Health Offices and Building and Property Inspection services.
11. We consolidated many levels of our organization, and closed the widening fissure that existed between town and the school department, such that we now truly have a “culture of one” among our departments.
12. We improved staffing levels and training of both our Police and Fire Departments.
13. We joined the City of Revere in a consolidated E-911 Dispatch Center.
14. We improved the town’s financial disciplines that resulted in our $7 million in town reserve balances, with solid and recurring year-end free cash balances and a bond upgrade by Wall Street.
15. 59 Residential properties were moved from blighted status to completely renovated, resulting in improving our neighborhoods throughout the town. Today the average property value in Winthrop is roughly 20% higher than in 2009. That’s real value for the homeowners of Winthrop.
16. We began the process of repositioning our Town Center for redevelopment and improvement.
17. We are building the first of its kind Marine Ecology Park at Belle Isle Marsh.
18. The elimination of metal fencing with natural wooden guard rails around town properties have made aesthetic improvements to our sea side views.
19. 80% of all town energy is offset by renewable energy resources.
20. We successfully appealed the intended inclusion of vast amounts of town residential properties to a flood insurance program saving an estimated 700 homes from astronomically high payments for flood insurance.
21. We preserved the EB Newton School as a self-sustaining cultural center saving the tax payers approximately $110,000 annually.
22. We saved the Larsen Rink from closure to now operating in the black.
23. We started the Walk Winthrop planning process and with improvements to Fisherman’s Bend improvements and Belle Isle, we will soon see the town become a walkable community.
24. We Improved water and sewer infrastructure throughout the town and improved the streets and sidewalks in almost every neighborhood.
25. We brought the Farmer’s Market to Winthrop residents giving them the opportunity to buy from regional farms and vendors.

All in all its been a great run and I think we can all be very proud of what we have accomplished together and how we have positioned the town for a real renaissance!

Thank you to everyone in Winthrop for allowing me to be a part of your wonderful community.

Jim McKenna was the Town Manager of Winthrop.