JIM MULVENNA
WESTFIELD – Department of Public Works Superintendent Jim Mulvenna has retired after 20 years of service to the community, the past 14 at the DPW and prior to that employment served three terms as a City Council member.
Mulvenna, who has been on paid administrative leave since early June and the subject of two Board of Public Works executive sessions, retired last Friday from his $88,000 post. The BPW never voted in open session, so the focus of those executive sessions is not public record.
RALPH FIGY
Mulvenna was appointed Superintendent of the DPW in 2008 and was the Deputy Superintendent for several years prior to his appointment following the resignation of former DPW Superintendent Philip Genovese.
Mulvenna was hired in 2000, the year before Jack Dowd, who served as Westfield’s DPW superintendent since his appointment in 1997, resigned in 2001 to take the Public Works director position in West Springfield.
MARY L. O’CONNELL
Ward 2 Councilor Ralph Figy, chairman of the council’s Personnel Action Committee, said that Mulvenna was a ward councilor’s “go-to guy.
“If I called Jim with a problem in my ward, it was fixed in a couple of days,” Figy said.
Ward 4 Councilor Mary O’Connell shared that respect for Mulvenna’s capabilities.
“He has been one of the most professional department heads that I’ve worked with,” O’Connell said. “Jim was always available and responsive. If I called with a problem, he took care of it. He has been wonderful to work with over the years.”
CHRISTOPHER KEEFE
“It’s a big loss to the city,” O’Connell said.
Ward 1 Councilor Christopher Keefe said it will be “miserably difficult to replace Jim.
“Out of all of the City Hall officials I’ve dealt with, I’ve gotten more done faster with Jim,” Keefe said. “He always took care of what was needed in Ward 1.”
Board of Public Works Chairman John Sullivan said he is “sorry to see Jim go.”
“It’s a tough job because you can’t please everyone,” Sullivan said. “Jim did everything he was asked to do for the betterment of residents and the city.
“He’s been a good friend of mine for decades,” Sullivan said. “Last year he was talking about retirement, so this was not a surprise to me.”
“I was appointed to the Public Works Board in 1997, so I’ve worked with three superintendents and will, apparently, with a fourth,” Sullivan said.
