ROCKLAND, Maine — City officials announced a series of staff changes on Friday afternoon, including the hiring of a new community development director.
Audra Caler-Bell will begin work as the city’s community development director on Jan. 20, interim City Manager Tom Luttrell announced. She will succeed John Holden, who resigned at the end of last month to take a job as president of the Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council.
Caler-Bell currently serves as planning and community development director for the Midcoast Council of Governments. That organization is a nonprofit specializing in regional economic development and planning. The communities served by the organization include Bath, Brunswick, Topsham and Richmond.
The executive director of the Midcoast Council of Governments is Jeffrey Kobrock, who is one of two finalists for the city manager job in Rockland. Prior to taking his job at the Midcoast Council of Governments, Kobrock served for many years as Gardiner’s city manager.
Members of the Rockland city manager search committee — consisting of current city councilors and former councilor Dr. Eric Hebert — will be showing Kobrock and the other finalist — Boothbay Town Manager James Chaousis II — around the city over the next week or two.
If one is selected, the person would succeed Luttrell, who has been interim manager since December 2013, when James Smith resigned. Luttrell has held those duties as well as his finance director position for more than a year.
On Friday, Luttrell also announced that David St. Laurent, director of Rockland’s solid waste management program, has been hired as assistant wastewater treatment plant superintendent. St. Laurent has served as Rockland’s solid waste program director for nearly eight years.
He will also begin his new duties on Jan. 20.
Public Works Director Greg Blackwell will assume oversight of the transfer station and solid waste operations. He will continue overseeing both public works and solid waste management until the council decides whether to merge the two departments.