Date: Fri 27-Jun-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDREA

Quick Words:

snapshot-Fred-Hurley

Full Text:

SNAPSHOT: FRED HURLEY

Occupation: Public Works Director. I've been here eight years this November.

We originally thought I'd be here five years; I came here to do the sewer

project. Rarely do you get the opportunity to work on a brand new start-up. It

was attractive, professionally, to be involved in so many projects that would

all take place in a relatively short [span of] time - road building program,

sewer plant/collection system, close the landfill and set up town-wide

recycling program.

Biggest change in town: Town government had to make the shift away from a

quiet small rural town and enter into a much more complex regulatory world. We

have a need for a higher caliber of management to deal with a world that is

increasingly more complex. The area of risk management and safety training is

now something every department has to be aware of. The days of promoting

people with no background [in these areas] to higher management positions is

over. An additional layer of middle management is the key area the town will

have to face in the next five years. As demands for services increase

dramatically in the next decade - and that's population alone, I'm not talking

about schools - the general government is going to get hammered.

Family: Today is my 19th wedding anniversary, and I'm proud of that. The fact

that [Marty and I] haven't killed each other in that time... We both have very

strong personalities. Our children are Elena, 17, Katie, 14, and Rebecca, 11 -

that's my special one; she has Down's Syndrome. She is the light of our lives.

Everyone knows Rebecca at the softball games. Now that she's 11, she's tired

of being a mascot. But there's nothing for special needs kids until high

school. Special Olympics doesn't start until they're older.

Pets: Rebecca is finally getting a dog, a lab mix. Her name will be Honey

Hurley.

Hobbies: My children have been my hobby for the last 17 years. I used to do a

lot of sailing and fishing. Now I've been involved in kids' sports. I've

coached softball and basketball - mostly softball. I worked with PAL in

Stratford to help the league grow from 400 to 800 kids in four years. We see

the inequity that exists [between boys' and girls' teams]. But it's getting

better. I think the last Olympics had a lot to with it; it was clearly a

women's Olympics. And nothing is bigger than UConn women's basketball. They've

[brought about] awareness in a positive way. My working with kids is important

to me. I want to get something going for younger special needs kids.

What do you enjoy most about your job: The diversity of challenges. Every

single day is different. The challenge is for the town to plan its way through

change. There is no quick fix to the problems they will face in the next

decade. In the public domain that's something very difficult to live with

because people want answers now . It's difficult to balance long-term planning

and the need for short-term results.

Do you like to read: I read voraciously - anything I can get my hands on

including magazines and newspapers. I watch the History channel and Discover

channel. I want to know how everything works. Is there a specific type of book

you like to read: 18th Century sea novels. I always thought that's the century

I should have been born in.

Personal philosophy: We have to do [things] for posterity. That's the reason

you can enjoy the maples on Main Street today - someone a hundred years ago

planted them knowing they wouldn't be around to sit in their shade. That's

something we've gotten away from. I consider myself from the old school. I

think giving and public service is something you should do. Everything we have

today - as a country and people - was done by people before us and we're

obligated to move the dream forward. I went to the School of Foreign Service

at Georgetown [with the intention of] going into public service. You always

have to look forward and outward. When you look inward, it's too easy to be

selfish, narrow, and parochial.