Tyler Ward, the chair of the Peterborough Select Board, fondly remembers the six years he collaborated with former Town Administrator Rodney Bartlett.
“When I joined the board, and the town was up against so many infrastructure projects that we were facing, and his expertise in heading up the DPW just made it so clear to us he was perfect to transition into the town administrator job when Pam Brenner left because he just had the wealth of knowledge,” said Ward.
Bartlett, who was Peterborough’s public works director before becoming town administrator, died July 25 at the age of 71. According to Bartlett’s obituary from Peabody Funeral Home, Bartlett was born and raised in Berlin, Mass., and graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a degree in civil engineering. He worked in the Derry Public Works Department from 1979 to 1990 and was public works director in Salem before taking the same position in Peterborough in 2006.
He was named town administrator in 2015, a position he held until announcing his retirement in 2020 as part of a five-year succession plan developed by town leadership in 2015. Nicole MacStay, who had been Bartlett’s deputy town administrator, took over the position Jan. 1, 2021.
“He wanted to retire sooner, but I think we kind of held on to him as long as we could,” Ward said. “He graciously stayed and really, I can’t emphasize enough how instrumental he was to getting these projects done.”
After retirement, Bartlett served the town as a consultant to help secure funding for the Cold Stone Springs water supply project with Jaffrey and finish the Main Street Bridge project. When the bridge reopen ed to traffic Dec. 15, 2021, Bartlett and Selectman Bill Taylor rode in the first vehicle to cross the bridge. Ward remembers him as a calm and strong member of every time he was a part of, both on the local and state levels.
“We’ve had our share of crises in the town,” said Ward. “When one would arise I’d storm into his office and he would calm me down, put things in perspective and guarantee that you know, we’ll get through the other steps.”