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Wareham woman to head city's troubled harbor
commission
Wareham woman to head troubled panel
By Becky W. Evans, Standard-Times staff writer
 NEW
BEDFORD — Mayor Scott W. Lang has appointed Kristin
Decas of Wareham as the new executive director of the
Harbor Development Commission, which is fraught with
financial and management problems, including
conflict-of-interest questions involving its treasurer
and a $1.3 million debt owed to the city.
For the past five years, Ms. Decas, 37, has been deputy
director and program manager for the Massachusetts
Governor's Seaport Advisory Council. She has also worked
for the state Department of Environmental Protection,
coordinating its alternative fuel vehicle program.
Ms. Decas was selected from a group of 12 applicants for
her "tremendous experience with import-export issues,
short sea shipping development and recreational boating
opportunities," Mayor Lang said yesterday during a press
conference.
He cited her familiarity with several New Bedford
projects, such as dredging, berthing and harbor
planning.
"We wanted someone who could come in and build a strong
coalition and who knew all the players," he said. "She
knows the area."
Ms. Decas — who signed a three-year contract and will be
paid a starting salary of $80,000 per year — said she
looks forward to implementing some of the policies that
she developed while on the seaport advisory council.
"I'm really excited to now put them into practical
application," she said.
Her vision for New Bedford includes making it a thriving
fishing port, a short sea shipping hub and a destination
for small cruise ships that would visit historic ports
around the state.
Short sea shipping reduces highway congestion by moving
freight up and down the Atlantic coast by vessel rather
than by truck, Ms. Decas said. New Bedford would be an
ideal hub because of its dredged harbor and its access
to highways and rail, she said.
A new report on a financial and managerial review of the
Harbor Development Commission shows the agency owes the
city $1.3 million due to ferry terminal construction and
other project overruns. The report, which was ordered by
the mayor, also points out several possible conflicts
related to HDC treasurer and commissioner Jose Gouveia
Jr.
Ms. Decas said she has reviewed the problems outlined in
the report and will work with the mayor and the
commission "to sort those out." She noted her management
of the council's $11.5 million budget for fiscal 2007 as
evidence of her financial management skills.
Mayor Lang said he plans to change HDC operations to
allow more time for Ms. Decas to focus on harbor
development. The mayor has yet to decide whether in
light of the report he will rescind his February
reappointment recommendation for Mr. Gouveia, whose term
expired in December 2001.
"I am looking at all the appointments," he said of the
six HDC commissioners.
Ms. Decas will be the first female HDC executive
director. She will begin the position within the next
week and a half, the mayor said.
While some people may be under the impression the
waterfront is "dominated by men," Mayor Lang said, "we
have women playing a vital, active role in the New
Bedford waterfront across the board."
Born and raised in Chappaqua, N.Y., Ms. Decas moved to
Wareham in 1997. She is a member of St. George Greek
Orthodox Church in New Bedford, where she married her
husband, Gregory, and where her two young daughters were
baptized.
In 1997, Ms. Decas received a master's degree in
environmental policy and management from the University
of Denver. She holds a bachelor's degree in economics
from the University of Vermont.
Contact Becky W. Evans at
revans@s-t.com
Date of Publication: December 22, 2006 on Page A07 |
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