WESTFIELD – Community Development Block Grant Coordinator Diana Mclean is returning to the private sector later this month after managing the city’s grants for the past five years.
McLean confirmed Monday that she is leaving municipal employment later this month to take a marketing job for Nabil and Julie Hannoush, who own the Shortstop Bar & Grill complex at 99 Springfield Street, which also includes baseball batting cages and a fitness facility, as well as the restaurant.
McLean said that she considered leaving before the municipal election last week, but decided to stay with the Community Development Department during the transition under a new acting mayor, Brian Sullivan.
Sullivan, who is the Mayor-Elect, will be sworn into office in January.
“I can’t just walk away after giving two weeks notice,” Mclean said. “There was too much going on. This is probably the best time to make that transition.”
Sullivan said this morning that it will be difficult to find someone to takes Mclean’s post.
“I’m meeting today with (Community Development Director Peter J.) Miller to discuss how we go about that,” Sullivan said. “The CDBG is a pretty important piece of funding and we need to get the most out of what we receive. Diana has done that job extremely well, put in a lot of hours, so I wish her the best in her new endeavor.”
Miller said Monday that Mclean’s strength “is her attention to detail. She’s developed a good knack for that, which is important because the feds want clean files.”
Miller said administrating the CDBG funds requires dealing with “complex regulations” that she navigated really well.
“Diana also brought a work ethic to everything she has done on the community,” Miller said. “We will miss her and her energy in our office.”
