Tim Kilhart, currently Hubbardston’s public works director, will start work as Harvard’s new DPW director April 3. His starting salary will be $95,440 (a grade 12, step 1 position). Kilhart was one of two strong candidates recommended for the position by a screening committee in February.
After Kilhart’s interview early last month, Selectman Ken Swanton said he was impressed with his personality, experience, and grant-writing expertise: “Tim seems to be a real go-getter, and it’s not a surprise that he got a $5 million grant for Hubbardston. That’s kind of amazing. And his answers were short, concise—I was drawn to that aspect of him.”
“Tim [Kilhart] impressed me; I can relate to him on a human basis,” Selectwoman Alice von Loesecke said after the Feb. 3 public interviews. Selectman Ron Ricci said at that same meeting that he was pleased with Kilhart’s extensive experience.
Acting DPW director and foreman Gilbert named Kilhart as his first-choice candidate after the first round of interviews. The two met and toured the DPW facility during the last week of January. Kilhart said about Gilbert during his interview that he was “confident that we could work well together.”
Kilhart’s experience as the Hubbardston DPW director has also included the foreman duties. His other responsibilities were short- and long-term planning, obtaining and managing Chapter 90 revenue from the state, creating budgets, writing and receiving grants (from the Transportation Improvement Plan and the Montachusett Regional Planning Commission, totaling $4.7 million), managing public outreach and coordinating with other town departments, and operating equipment.
Kilhart is also a trench permitting officer, and he holds Massachusetts drinking water grade 2D and 1T full operator licenses. He has been a firefighter and EMT for more than 30 years, and his hazmat operations training is current. During his high school years, Kilhart was an all-state choir member. Kilhart is a member of the Montachusett Joint Transportation Committee and the Western Massachusetts Waterworks Association.
The selectmen had initially offered the job to Ken Kalinowski, who turned down the position. In an early morning phone call this week, Kalinowski said that he will remain in his current position as director of public works and town engineer in Pepperell.
