ADAMS, Mass. — Town Administrator Tony Mazzucco will leave his post and take a new position as the general manager of Norwood.

"I’m sad about leaving not only the job but the area," Mazzucco said Wednesday after the Selectmen's meeting. "It is a beautiful area and Adams has some interesting characters. It is a good community and I am going to miss it."

Before the board started its business Wednesday, Chairman John Duval announced that Mazzucco has been offered the position in Norwood, closer to where he grew up.

Mazzucco, whose three-year contract with the town runs out Jan. 8, said he has been taking job interviews over the past few months closer to his hometown of Randolph.

"I will be working and living in a community that is about 15 minutes from where I grew up," he said. "It is really about me going home. I have lived outside of the area where I grew up for about six to seven years and I just decided that the next phase of my life and career would be better served where I grew up."

 

Mazzucco was offered the position by the Norwood Selectmen on Tuesday, selected over two other finalists Natick Deputy Town Administrator William Chenard and Norfolk Town Administrator Jack Hathaway, according to a story in the Norwood Patch. He would replace the town's longtime manager John Carroll, who served in the post for 40 years. 

 

Norwood has a population of more than 30,000 and is located outside Boston. Adams has a population of about 8,500. They do have Potterwold in common — Harry and the Potters are from Norwood and Ilvermorny, of course, is in Adams.

 

Norwood's Selectmen Chairman William Plasko told Norwood Patch that Mazzucco could be "a nice breath of fresh air."

 

"I know every time I talk to him I feel younger and enthused myself," he said.

Duval said Mazzucco's departure was no surprise and it was clear that over the past few months he was looking to relocate and attending interviews.

"He wanted to be closer to home and that is understandable," he said. "He did well in many of his interviews and we knew it was only a matter of time before he got one."

Mazzucco was assistant city manager of Caribou, Maine, when took the position back in 2014 and after former Town Administrator Jonathan Butler resigned. Through the years, Mazzucco has made strides to develop a more transparent budget process, develop a more sustainable budget and made efforts to spark economic development in the community.

"I am really proud of a lot of the financial progress that we made," he  said. "I'm also glad that C.T. Plunkett is open today."

Even resident and town meeting member Jeffrey Lefebvre, who has often been critical of town government, thanked Mazzucco for his service.

"I just want to turn around and thank Tony for all of his years here," he said. "He was one of the only town administrators I could actually communicate with and I want to thank him and wish him the best of luck."

Mazzucco saw projects like the Berkshire Scenic Railway to completion as well as the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail Extension but noted it would have been nice to see the Greylock Glen through.

"The Glen is the big thing and we are still working on it," he said. "Donna [Cesan, director of community development] has made great progress and I would have liked to have seen her complete the project."

Duval said the Norwood manager retires Dec. 1 and that the selectmen must negotiate an agreeable separation date with Mazzucco.

Duval said after this, the Selectmen will start the process of hiring a new town administrator.

"We will move on," he said. "We have been here before."