Meet Steve Cronin, Exeter's new public works director

EXETER — Steve Cronin, a veteran of the public works industry, has taken over as Exeter’s new public works director after a year-long vacancy.

Cronin succeeds Jennifer Perry, who retired in 2022 after 20 years of service. Paul Vlasich, the town engineer, has been acting as interim director since Perry's departure.

“Exeter has a fantastic reputation as a great place to live and among municipal employees has a great reputation for being a well-run town that’s well organized with great staff,” said Cronin, on why he applied for the job. “It was a very intriguing opportunity.”

Town Manager Russ Dean said Cronin, whopreviously served as DPW director in Westford, Massachusetts,stood out among the 27 applicants interviewed for the job. He said Cronin’s background in water supply combined with “comprehensive” answers to their questions made him the town’s first choice.

“I think it was the fact that (Cronin) already is coming to the position with direct experience as a director of public works in a town the size of Westford, Massachusetts,” said Dean. “He has experience as a water superintendent… Exeter has quite a few issues right now with respect to water, in terms of future supply and treatment and how we’re going to handle those. He comes with direct experience in that area.”

According to Dean, Cronin will make $143,838 a year, with a $5,000 sign-on bonus after six months.

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Cronin says public works is his calling

Cronin grew up on the South Shore of Massachusetts. He attended Saint Anselm College from 1999 to 2003, graduating with a bachelor of arts in business administration and management.

Cronin said he found his calling in public works in college, working as a laborer for the DPW in Hanover, Massachusetts.

“My mother was actually an employee of the DPW in Hanover, as well as a water billing clerk,” he said. “After college, I went back there as a water treatment plant operator, fell in love with it, and was promoted to chief operator shortly after, and stayed there for about seven years.”

Cronin would move on to Westford in 2010, where he worked up the ranks to become public works director.

Cronin said during his time in Westford, he oversaw infrastructure upgrades, including numerous pipe replacement projects, new water source developments, and bringing new water treatment facilities online. He said he also worked on larger infrastructure projects like road reconstruction, utility replacement and road resurfacing.

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Cronin lists his top priorities for Exeter DPW

In his new role in Exeter, Cronin said one of his top priorities will be addressing dated infrastructure and improving water supply.

“Exeter is a typical New England town that has some older infrastructure that certainly needs to be upgraded,” he said.

Another “big focus,” he said, will be the recruitment and retention of staff.

“I think municipalities across the board are facing staffing challenges, particularly during and after COVID,” he said. “Exeter, just like many other towns, has to address those. It’s a great town, great culture here, and we certainly want to express that to potential employees and really sell them on the idea of coming to Exeter.”

Cronin said he also wants to start planning for the future.

“I think we have a lot of succession planning to do," he said. "We have a lot of longtime employees who are getting kind of toward the end of their career, so I think we need to make plans to address that so we can keep operating in the future. We definitely want to focus on creating a long-term plan for capital improvement and investment… planning for the growth of the town in the future.”

Cronin lives in Litchfield with his wife, Danielle, and their four children, Emma, Joe, Anna and Jack.

“Their hobbies are my hobbies,” he joked, referring to his children. “They’re very active kids who are involved in sports and dance.”

Cronin said he likes to golf, fish, and go on family camping trips.

Cronin said he's looking forward to “getting to know the town and the community.” He said Exeter has “a lot of great history,” which is also a particular interest of his.

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This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Exeter NH hires Steve Cronin as new public works director