At pivotal point, Cathcart passes public works baton

Acton Public Works Director Alan Cathcart remembers a late-night scramble with staff to get the town’s Nagog drinking water systems back online.

Crews fixed the equipment issue before hot weather arrived to strain the water supply. 

In his role, “you just have to be ready” for an urgent call, he told The Acton Bridge. 

As he heads into retirement, he said he won’t miss responding to those kinds of emergencies. 

Cathcart cleaned out his office this month after three decades in town and nearly seven years in his department’s top job.

“We’ve built a team, and we have a lot of good managers” who are now ready to “get the work done,” Cathcart said.

He praised his successors and said leaving now works for his “shelf life” in municipal government. 

“I think I’ve had a good run,” Cathcart said.

Highway and Grounds Superintendent Aaron Miklosko is taking over as interim director as the public works department tackles a parade of major projects.

Ongoing projects

Cathcart studied geology in college and got his start with a water resource protection internship in Littleton. 

He faced “serious water quality issues” when he started work as Acton’s water and sewer superintendent, including townwide rusty, discolored water. “It was crazy,” he said.

There’s much less rust in the water today, but officials are facing new regulations around dangerous PFAS chemicals. Officials recently reworked Acton’s solid waste recycling program and are working to upgrade stormwater infrastructure.

Critics have lamented mounting fees, including a new stormwater utility charge.

In May, Cathcart predicted that a major hike to the town’s Sewer Improvement Fee would prompt a “wow” reaction from people already frustrated with the cost.

By the time he arrived in town last year, new Water and Sewer Superintendent Darin LaFalam said Acton was facing a “crisis of ‘zero reads’” as aging water meters failed. 

Officials are rolling out new “smart meters” to address the issue.

Acton just started a five-year project to overhaul town roads. 

Cathcart, whose last official day was June 19, said he’s proud of his communication and his expertise. He’s also served on various state boards and committees.

A part-time role?

Public Works Commissioner Sven Weber told The Bridge that Cathcart is “really good on the political lobbying part,” and Miklosko said Cathcart “prides himself in his work.”

Lafleur told staff in March that Cathcart was interested in returning part-time “to assist with capital and infrastructure-related initiatives.”

She recently told The Bridge that they’re “still working through” the details. 

Cathcart smiled in response to applause at Acton-Carlisle High School on June 11 as prison planning consultant Chris Dempsey recognized his service.

Public works has been part of prison redevelopment talks as officials consider whether to relocate department headquarters to the property. Cathcart has also joined conversations about Route 2 rotary replacement and possibly acquiring a prison wastewater treatment plant.

He has acknowledged unsuccessful appeals to federal regulators to let the town release more treated wastewater into the Acton River. Officials hope the wastewater plant will help boost the town’s limited sewer capacity.

Prison conversations have gone outside traditional meeting rooms, and Cathcart sat on a bench in Monument Square one morning just days before his retirement talking with MCI Acton Master Plan Committee co-Chair Dan Gainsboro. 

In his final days, Cathcart said he was “continuing to do what I do. … I have a lot of strong relationships with people in the community that really do care.”

Aaron Miklosko is interim chief of public works 

A familiar face is taking over as Acton’s new director of public works — at least for now. 

Town Manager Kerry Lafleur tapped Highway and Grounds Superintendent Aaron Miklosko to replace retiring director Alan Cathcart on an interim basis. 

Miklosko came to Acton in 2019 after serving as Maynard’s director of public works.

He told The Acton Bridge this month that he thanks Lafleur “for giving me the opportunity.”

Cathcart praised Miklosko as experienced and “very disciplined.”

Miklosko will take the helm as the town tackles a major road resurfacing effort that will eventually touch more than half its streets. 

He earned a master of science in facilities management from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and has volunteered with the state’s Task Force 1, a FEMA urban search-and-rescue team.

Public Works Commission member Sven Weber told The Bridge that Miklosko will bring a “different style” as a “very execution-oriented” leader.

Miklosko will hold the interim title for 90 days while town leaders evaluate “long-term operational and structural needs,” Lafleur said in a statement. 

While she hasn’t publicly guaranteed a permanent promotion, Lafleur said Miklosko’s “extensive leadership background and deep operational knowledge make him uniquely qualified to guide [Acton Public Works] during this pivotal period.”

— Dakota Antelman