ANDOVER — The town has appointed a new leader for its Department of Public Works after the longtime director retired.
Carlos Jaquez, 40, who has served as DPW deputy director since July 2019, assumed the role on Monday at an annual salary of $162,000.
Before coming to Andover, Jaquez was the DPW director for Lawrence for two and a half years. He helped secure a $30 million settlement for infrastructure restoration following the 2018 Merrimack Valley gas explosions.
Jaquez took over the role following the retirement of Chris Cronin, who served as DPW director for 10 years. Cronin had been a full-time employee with Andover DPW since 1988. Some of Cronin’s initiatives included the implementation of the water main replacement and gas disaster recovery programs and developing the sidewalk replacement initiative.
Jaquez enters the position with more than a decade leading and managing public works projects throughout the Merrimack Valley.
“Carlos has consistently demonstrated his strategic vision and commitment to operational excellence in his role as Andover’s deputy director,” Town Manager Andrew Flanagan said. “His extensive experience and leadership in public works make him exceptionally well-qualified to lead our Department of Public Works into its next chapter. I am confident that Carlos will continue to uphold the high standards set by Chris Cronin and will be a valued and respected leader within our organization and in the community. ”
His foray into public works came by happenstance after graduating from the University of Massachusetts Lowell with a Masters of Science in engineering. He saw a job posting for an internship at Tewksbury DPW. The internship gave him his first taste of civil engineering in a municipal setting.
“I’ve honestly loved it ever since,” Jaquez said. “It’s the fact that in this particular work, you get to have a real world impact on people’s lives every single day and it just makes it that much more fulfilling.”
Jaquez, hired by Cronin in 2019, said he’s taking his experiences and the values instilled by Cronin in his new leadership role.
“That was something I had a real appreciation for Chris and his leadership here,” Jaquez said. “We work for the residents. We need to understand what exactly it is that residents expect from us for the tax dollars that they contribute to the town.”
He said Andover is experiencing growing pains as people move from Boston and other urban environments to the suburbs. Those recent arrivals expect more municipal services, similar to what they received in a metro or urbanized area, Jaquez said, which can create tension with longtime residents.
“It’s been interesting and a challenge to meet, because communities like Andover, Methuen and North Andover were built to be suburban communities,” he added.
This year, Andover will transition from manual to automated trash and recycling pick-up with Republic Services. It’s something Jaquez said is long overdue, but a move that he is excited to be a part of starting in July.
“We are one of the very few communities of our similar demographics and size that do not have automated trash pickup,” he said.
Surrounding communities such as North Andover, Methuen and Lawrence already have automated trash pickup. Jaquez said he’s been an advocate for the system, but understands there will be challenges in the town’s transition over the next six months to educate residents, instruct them about its benefits and how it will save the town money.
“At the same time, it will hopefully reduce our overall waste footprint,” he added.