BUCKSPORT — Bucksport’s town manager will resign after nearly a decade of service with the town.

“I’ve done my best for the past 40-plus years in all the communities I’ve been at to represent the communities well and to do a good job,” said Lessard. “Some would agree, some would disagree. But now is the time for someone else to take the reins and move Bucksport forward.”

Lessard was first hired in the wake of the closure of the town’s paper mill and helped the town tackle the challenges that came with that shutdown.

“What I learned after I got here was that Bucksport was by no means dead,” said Lessard. “They had suffered a huge blow in the loss of the mill, but people weren’t wringing their hands, they were rolling up their sleeves. And they’ve done that for 10 years and so after I’d been here for a while and they said, ‘would you consider just staying?’ I had by that time fallen in love with the community and I said ‘yeah, I’ll stay.’” 

Her retirement comes as area dams and the town landfill still face uncertain futures. New bills before the legislature could allow towns to take over abandoned dams, which could include dams in the Bucksport area. And the Bucksport Mill filed plans to close the landfill in 2024.

However, Lessard said she will assume a volunteer role to help the town while it works to resolve those issues.

Looking ahead to what will happen after her departure, she said the town will focus on growth in new areas.

“We have a new year-round dock facility that we received grant funding to do,” said Lessard. “Our waterfront will be much of the future, so there’s a lot to look forward to here.” 

Lessard will leave her position on June 30. Bucksport Town Clerk Jacob Gran has been tapped to fill her shoes.

Lessard said Gran has also worked as her assistant and has been preparing for the role.

“We have a strong belief here that if you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward,” said Lessard. “Bucksport has no intention of moving backward.”

Lessard said she started her career as a town clerk and bookkeeper in the town of Searsport in the 1970s and has managed five different communities since then. 

Lessard said she will look back on her time with Bucksport fondly.

“The word community here is a verb,” said Lessard. “It’s an active state of being here, and that’s not true everywhere.”