BATH

City Manager Peter Owen understands the grimy, less glamorous parts of the city — from the sewers to the landfill — that many Bath residents might prefer to overlook.

“They take it for granted,” said Owen. “People assume that their toilet is going to flush 24/7 and never have a problem. But when it does, it’s a big deal. When it’s Thanksgiving dinner, and suddenly the water’s backed up and you have a problem, people expect things to happen.”

That perspective comes from 18 years at the Bath Public Works Department, where Owen served as director before being appointed interim city manager over the summer, replacing longtime City Manager Bill Giroux. As interim manager, Owen spent a lot of time making sure that residents had the luxury to not think about the inner workings of city infrastructure.

“We’re on call 24/7 to make sure the sewer is flowing and water is being treated and we’re not doing illegal discharges in the river,” he said. “Those are things that happen behind the scenes all the time that people just expect. There’s a lot of planning and dedication to making those things work.”

That side of city government, with little glory or recognition, is where Owen says he thrives.

“That’s probably the most expensive item that you have to deal with as a city manager, is the infrastructure,” he said. “Having to deal with treatment plant upgrades, pump station upgrades, the landfill, sewer issues, those are all things I understand really well.

“Most of the public does not appreciate the dedicated employees that we have,” he added.

Owen, who was named the permanent city manager earlier this month, wants to use his new position to bring some of that dedicated yet unrecognized work into the limelight.

In his first city council meeting as interim city manager, Owen took time during his report to the council to highlight the act of one Bath firefighter, who stopped to help someone with a flat tire.

“When you look at the firefighters and the police officers and the public works guys who are snow plowing around the clock on Christmas Day,” he said, “they are people who step right up and take care of their jobs without thinking twice. And they go well beyond just their jobs.”

While it’s been a learning curve, Owen said that he’s adjusting well to the new position — just in time to begin work on the city budget.

That’s not to say he hasn’t been proactive. During the first six months on the job, Owen has completed the fire contract and put together a wellness program for employees. The council decided to appoint Owen as permanent city manager in January.

But while the regular business at city hall goes on, he’s also taking the first steps of a collaborative process to lay out a new vision for Bath.

“Since I’ve come on board, I’ve been getting a lot of people coming in and talking to me, and the bottom line is people are interested in seeing a new vision for Bath,” said Owen. “There have been a lot of changes in the economy and culture.”

Beyond the perennial problems of parking and traffic that Owen says the city is working to address, there are larger shifts in Bath that need to be addressed.

With a lot more retail moving online, Bath is going to have to find a way to adapt, said Owen. He isn’t worried that the downtown is in decline in any way, but he said business owners are looking for new ways to keep Bath sustainable.

Parts of that would include regional transportation, the school systems and aging in place initiatives, among other things. A lot of those conversations are already beginning; two groups have already formed in January to discuss aging issues and transportation, respectively.

“All of these things have to do with what I see as trying to hammer out a vision of where Bath could be in five years,” said Owen.

Main Street Bath is currently going through its own review of its mission and future in Bath, and Owen said he will partner with them on creating a vision for the city. A lot of these discussions will eventually fold into the city’s upcoming comprehensive plan as well, creating a structure for that vision. Still, noted Owen, the work is still in the very early stages.

“That’s what’s made the job for me exciting,” he said. “None of these things are new things, they’re being talked about in every community and they’ve been talked about in the past.

“But at some point, I think you have to look at the state of the world as it is and how does it affect Bath,” Owen added, “and how do we become relevant so that people want to come to Bath.”

nstrout@timesrecord.com