Public works chief leaving after 4 months

CROMWELL — After four months as head of Cromwell’s Public Works Department, and nearly four decades in Middletown in a similar role, William Russo has resigned.

Russo, who will stay until May 27, has led the department for the past four months, after retiring as the head of Middletown Public Works for nearly four decades.

In Cromwell, Russo has managed 37 people compared with the 87 employees in Middletown.

Russo and his staff are finishing a project to create 10 tennis courts, which Russo expects to be done next week.

Russo says he's a very community-minded person, and part of his job is to communicate with residents, officials and others, especially when it comes to sports. During his Middletown tenure, he helped usher in the Pat Kidney Field complex opening, renovations to Veterans Memorial Pool and Harbor Park boardwalk, installation of energy-efficient lights across the city, and countless other projects.

In Cromwell, he and his staff have accomplished a lot.

“In my short time here, we've overcome some hurdles,” Russo explained.

Several individuals spoke out at the May 11 Town Council meeting about Russo retiring, saying the town's fields have never looked better.

Dan Sevra, vice president of Cromwell Little League Majors Baseball, said his organization in recent years has had “the worst facilities in the area.”

“Significant” changes have been made to upkeep of the sports fields, he said. “That's a credit to public works, and not leaving volunteers to do all the work. That's a positive change for us, so I'd like to see it continue.”

Dan Brisson, who sits on the Recreation Commission, concurred with Sevra. “The relationship with soccer and baseball has never been as good as it [is] for the past 10 years,” he said.

Brisson said it's unfortunate that Russo is stepping down, since he was looking forward to him accomplishing “good things” for Cromwell. “We're sad to see him go.”

“It's a sports-minded town, but we're going backwards — it's actually embarrassing. Something needs to be done,” Brisson added.

Town Manager Anthony Salvatore said Russo came into his office May 9 and informed him he was stepping down.

Salvatore declined to answer further questions on the matter.

“I'm proud of my accomplishments,” Russo said. “When you get to this stage [of his career], there are differences in goals and direction. If it was my first goaround, maybe I wouldn't be [resigning], but now after 37.5 years, at this point in my life,” Russo said, he has other priorities.

Russo said he's a very handson guy. “I'm not behind my desk for eight hours — I'm out in public, talking to people, hearing their needs and implementing them.”

Common Councilman Al Waters said he's disappointed that Russo is leaving. “I really feel bad for the town of Cromwell. It's a shame Cromwell lost a person so beneficial to the town,” he said.

In less than 45 days, Russo and his team were able to successfully build the tennis courts, the councilman said, adding that Russo was able to purchase halogen lights for the “right price.”

“He's doing a phenomenal job,” Waters added. “Not one person dislikes him. In all my years, I've never seen a department head go around with a smile on his face all the time.”

As for Russo's next endeavor, “I'm keeping my options open,” but he intends, at least for the near future, “to put my feet up a little bit.”

Russo