Two top officials resign in Seabrook

By Angeljean Chiaramida
Staff writer

Fri, May 16 2008

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SEABROOK — Two of the town's highest-ranking staff members resigned yesterday, leaving some officials questioning how Seabrook's town government runs.

Yesterday morning, Town Manager Scott Dunn tendered his resignation, citing personal reasons. He had been on the job for just a year.

Not long afterward, Water Superintendent Mike Jeffers offered Dunn his resignation. Jeffers, who had been in Seabrook for 21/2 years, said the town's failure to hire a much-needed second in command in the Water Department was the reason for his leaving.

Dunn and Jeffers both said they did not know the other would be resigning and their actions were not related. But other town leaders wondered if there's a bigger issue.

"Absolutely, I think this clearly indicates something's not right in Seabrook," Selectman Brendan Kelly said yesterday afternoon. "Scott's resignation does not make me happy. I made an effort to have him change his mind, but it became clear that wasn't going to work. I would not be happy if Mike Jeffers is leaving either."

An emergency closed-door selectmen's meeting was scheduled for 3:30 p.m. yesterday to deal with the resignations.

Neither Dunn nor Jeffers left because of other job offers, though Dunn has maintained his relationship with his former employer over the past year. Prior to taking over as town manager on April 30, 2007, Dunn worked as a New England representative for California's American Bounty, a private contractor that provides food for America's military. Dunn will continue with the company after leaving Seabrook.

Dunn gave selectmen a 60-day notice, saying he planned to leave on July 12. Jeffers said in his letter of resignation he'll be gone in three weeks.

Dunn had nothing negative to say about working in Seabrook. He sent letters to those in town he had worked closely with, thanking them for their service.

"I thanked them for their diligence and hard work on behalf of the town," Dunn said. "Most people who work here fit that description. Most of the people here are good people. There's no doubt about that."

Jeffers said he might be persuaded to stay in Seabrook, but only if selectmen agreed to hire a second in command, a position he feels is critical to running the Water Department.

"I'm upset about leaving because I like Seabrook and I'd like to stay," Jeffers said. "I've foolishly tried to do the work of two or three people since I arrived, working 80 to 100 hours a week. The town needs to hire a second in command in this department, as it has in other departments. Someone with the proper education and certifications who could carry on if I drop dead. If I stayed, it would be like a dentist letting his own teeth rot. It's a professional embarrassment for me, and I couldn't let that continue."

Kelly said both Dunn and Jeffers tried to bring change to areas where change was needed. Both men met with cooperation and obstructionists along their path, which made doing their jobs difficult at times.

"Scott would look into things, then make a decision and try to implement it," Kelly said. "In most cases, he made the right decisions. But we have a history of decisions made the wrong way in Seabrook. And there's a real, real history in Seabrook of objecting to change."

Fire Chief Jeff Brown was shocked to hear of Dunn's resignation, saying he never saw it coming. Brown said Jeffers has considered leaving in the past, something Jeffers confirmed yesterday.

Jeffers' departure, in light of Seabrook's history of water problems, is seen as very serious, said Dunn, Brown and Kelly. All three feel Jeffers restored Seabrook's credibility with the state Department of Environmental Services, which oversees municipal drinking water systems.

Seabrook is about to build a federally mandated water treatment plant to remove arsenic from its public drinking water supply, a project Jeffers worked hard on. In addition, over the past two years, Jeffers had overseen the rehabilitation of the town's wells, resulting in them becoming more productive.

Through successful water exploration attempts, Seabrook also found new water sources during Jeffers' tenure and had planned to bring them into use.

Jeffers said he is sad about leaving, adding that Seabrook is a nice place to work. As recently as two weeks ago, Jeffers told selectmen the town might be only weeks away from lifting its year-round outdoor watering ban, which has been in place for several years.