Millinocket will soon have a permanent town manager, ending a period of more than a year during which the former mill town fired its town manager then the interim manager who replaced him.
Peter Jamieson will begin serving the role on Jan. 3.
“He brings valuable statewide relationships, long-standing local relationships, and has shown exceptional motivation to learn, listen and lead,” said Steve Golieb, chair of the Millinocket Town Council.
Jamieson, a Millinocket native, has served as economic development director for the Katahdin region since last spring in a position funded by Penobscot County government and housed at Eastern Maine Development Corporation. He previously served as director of the Katahdin Chamber of Commerce.
“I was representing and working with projects throughout the entirety of the region, so multiple towns at any given time,” Jamieson said.
“Looking at the town manager’s role in Millinocket gives me the opportunity to focus that energy on my hometown and provide that same sort of energetic forward thinking and progress.”
“I’m excited to take on the role and help move my hometown forward,” he added.
Jamieson has also served on Millinocket’s charter review and sustainability committees, and chaired its school board, according to his LinkedIn page.
“We’re all looking forward to Peter’s leadership,” said Jessica Masse, the vice president of Our Katahdin, which advocates for economic development projects in the Katahdin region and which announced Jamieson’s hiring. Our Katahdin is the owner of the former site of the Great Northern Paper Co. mill in Millinocket, and announced earlier this year that it has signed a lease to host a $300 million data center on the property.
Jamieson will oversee 84 municipal employees, a $6.9 million municipal budget and a $2.5 million wastewater budget, according to the job advertisement. Jamieson’s annual salary starts at $75,000 and will increase to $80,000 after a successful six-month probationary period, Golieb said. Jamieson’s contract is for two years, and the council will determine his second year salary based on an evaluation.
Millinocket has also hired Peggy Daigle, a former town manager who has also managed Enfield, Lincoln, Howland and Old Town, as a consultant for a year to assist with Jamieson’s transition to the manager position. Daigle also serves on the select board of neighboring East Millinocket.
Jamieson takes over for Richard Angotti, the town’s code enforcement officer who has served as interim town manager since February. The council appointed him to the position after it terminated interim manager Annette Padilla.
Padilla had taken over after the council fired former town manager John Davis in September 2020.
Davis had dismissed a sexual harassment complaint against the Millinocket police chief, Craig Worster, and declined to discipline him after Deputy Chief Janet Theriault accused him of creating a hostile work environment.
Millinocket disbanded its police department and now contracts with East Millinocket for law enforcement services.