LIMESTONE, Maine — Limestone’s new town manager has been at the helm since Jan. 5, 2015 and is no stranger to The County, having served as Madawaska’s town manager from 2004 to the end of 2005.
Manager Fred Ventresco brings with him eight years of municipal management experience, and four of those years were spent managing Maine communities.
“I love working in government and general administration — finance, human resources, and basically leading organizations and working with people,” the new town manager said on Tuesday morning.
Ventresco is very passionate about municipal management, but it wasn’t his first calling. He worked in different industries — banking, university administration as well as travel and tourism — but changed his career path in the mid 1990s and has been primarily dedicated to municipal development since.
With a background in the private sector and original educational pursuits in the sciences, Ventresco has a wide range of knowledge that’s helped him effectively manage the communities he’s worked for.
“I found that whatever organization you’re managing or leading, you have to have a well-rounded scope because you’re dealing with so many different things — and that’s especially important in the public sector because you’re working with so many people and different professions.”
Ventresco has identified a few priorities for Limestone in the short term, like making sure the new Town Office staff has the tools they need to meet the community’s needs.
“I’m not the only new one here,” he commented with a smile, referencing new town clerk and tax collector Beth O’Bar and the new town office secretary Margaret Catron. “Priority wise, we need to get the town running back on full speed again with our all-new staff so we continue serving the public well.”
Helping facilitate the transition is Limestone’s decade-spanning former Town Manager Donna Bernier, who is working closely with O’Bar and Catron in the front office.
Already retired from her town manager position, Bernier will continue working for the town until the end of January.
Ventresco has identified another priority for the community he’s already working to rectify — getting a Limestone representative back on the Loring Development Authority board of directors. The Loring Commerce Centre is one of Limestone’s major strengths Ventresco was quick to highlight, the other being the Maine School of Science and Mathematics.
Ventresco does hope to bolster Limestone’s business community going forward.
“One thing you always want to do is try to bring some new business into town and keep things alive,” he said, mentioning his focus on bringing in new businesses and helping the community look more attractive.
Ventresco grew up in southern Maine and studied public management and business at the University of Maine. He received his master’s degree in public administration from the University of New Hampshire.
While he used to enjoy baseball and running, Ventresco’s main hobby currently is reading.
“I mostly read things pertaining to work — mostly finance, government, law and those kinds of things,” he said, grinning as he called himself “boring.”
Though Ventresco has lived in Aroostook before, what drew him to Limestone was primarily the job.
“It was in the career I love doing,” he said. “I grew up in southern Maine and I’ve been in The County before … but mainly I like serving and working in local government.”
