When Community Services Director Carol Nardini leaves her position of 30 years next month Senior Services Coordinator Dennis Marsh will not be filling the void on an interim basis as The Orange Times first reported.{{more}}
Instead, First Selectman Jim Zeoli has appointed Joan Cretella as the interim director.
Attempts to reach Cretella were not successful.
Marsh said he was surprised to learn the news.
His job description clearly states his position stands in when the director is unavailable.
“He (Zeoli) said it would not be fair to me to have to do both jobs,” Marsh said.
“I knew her qualifications from a previous interview and felt they were beyond what we were looking for at that time,” Zeoli said of choosing to place Cretella in Nardini’s position part time on an interim basis.
“I think she will be a fresh set of eyes that will come in and look at what’s going on in the department. Status quo is not good enough,” Zeoli said.
Former Senior Services Coordinator Joanne Byrne weighed in on Zeoli’s decision. Byrne has followed the growth of the department since her retirement.
“The Community Service Dept. plays a pivotal role in town especially since Orange has an elderly population that is 25 percent of the total population of the town.
The department needs a strong, dynamic administrator who will lead it forward. Transportation, nutrition, education, social involvement, civic engagement, medical, caregiver support, and recreational needs of the over 60 population must be creatively addressed,” Byrne said of who should be chosen to replace Nardini.
According to the job description the director is appointed by and reports to the first selectman and community services commission.
The director is also the emergency shelter mass care coordinator during a town-wide declared emergency and is the designated ‘kitchen operator’ on the public health operating license.
Zeoli said there would be no rush in filling the position.
“I don’t think it’s fair to appoint an individual when there are only a few months left to the term (the term runs with the office of the first selectman),” he said.
Zeoli said he would wait until after the elections to conduct a thorough search for a new department head.
“It would be good to hire someone who has the experience to continue the work that Carol has accomplished to date,” Byrne said adding she expected the hiring process to be “open and transparent.”
Nardini said she hoped the changeover would be effortless.
“I am looking forward to working with Joan to reach as smooth a transition as possible. I also wish her the best,” Nardini said.