Gino Cresta is Swampscott’s interim town administrator, Department of Public Works director, certified tree warden, and wastewater operator. He’s also a member of the “chain gang” for “Big Blue” football and coached the town’s junior varsity hockey team for 15 years.
“I have issues where I need to be involved with everything,” Cresta admitted with a laugh. “I don’t know why.”
In June, Cresta will celebrate 22 years as the DPW director. On top of that, he became the acting town administrator last November when Sean Fitzgerald stepped down. He was voted interim town administrator by the town’s select board a month later.
He wakes up every morning, drives five minutes, and by 7 a.m., he’s sitting at his desk in Town Hall, ready to start the day. Cresta starts off reading a copy of the local newspaper (The Daily Item), and then he spends the first three-quarters of the day as interim town administrator. For the rest of the day, he puts on his DPW director hat.
Usually, his weekends are free, but the recent back-to-back winter snowstorms have kept him beyond busy. Sleep for him is “non-existent when it snows,” he joked.
“I don’t really have a life right now, but I know there’s a light at the end of the tunnel,” Cresta said with another laugh. “I’m hoping it’s not going to snow too much anymore.”
But, no matter how busy he is, his infectious and joyous smile remains stuck on his face. When asked how he stays organized and on top of all of his responsibilities, Cresta gave credit to his support staff, saying they keep him in check and in order. He quoted the phrase, “Behind every great man is a great woman,” or in his case, great women.
When he goes to church on Sundays, he said there’s always at least one person who walks up to him after the service and asks if he has a minute. He always gives it to them because, in his mind, that’s the territory of this job.
“Swampscott is just full of nice people, and I love getting emails from residents thanking me and my staff,” he said. “I always say that I have the greatest job because I get paid to help people. When somebody comes to me with a reasonable request, I love being able to help them.”
Frankly, Cresta just loves the town of Swampscott and has for his entire life. His grandfather moved here in 1936, living in the seaside town until he was 102 years old. For the first 15 years of being the DPW director, Cresta would have lunch with him every single day.
“He was so proud of me,” Cresta said. “My whole family, we are true blue-collar workers.”
Cresta is a product of Swampscott Public Schools, having played golf, hockey and baseball throughout. Then, he studied at Merrimack College and graduated in 1985 with a degree in Civil Engineering. He immediately started working in construction until he realized how much of a physical toll it takes on the body. Watching his dad get two titanium rods placed in his back from the job made that even more clear.
So, he decided to go and work for the town that raised him. He was hired as the DPW’s assistant engineer in 2003 and quickly got promoted to director of the department.
“I love being the DPW director, and that’s why I’ve done it for so long,” said Cresta. “I have an unbelievable crew now.”
He is responsible for maintaining the department’s 16 employees, including the new assistant engineer that he excitedly just hired. Cresta said that would help with all the big projects DPW is rolling out, like the Marshall Brook Outfall project and the Stacy’s Brook sewer ultraviolet improvements.
Now, when it comes to the role of interim town administrator, Cresta’s biggest curveball has been learning the ins and outs of the town’s budget. He says diving into it has been his biggest enlightening moment, and he is immensely grateful to the town’s Finance Committee for their patience while he learns the process of it all, as well as the finance lingo he isn’t familiar with.
Being the man in charge does come with some conflict, though, especially with regard to budget cuts for the town.
“Working on the budget, we have had to make cuts in every department, and as much as I didn’t want to make DPW cuts, I had to,” said Cresta. “I was conflicted; I didn’t want to do it.”
And while there have been learning curves and some slight conflict, Cresta says the positive feedback from the community is what keeps him going. He doesn’t run on coffee; he runs on the pure enjoyment of making Swampscott a better place for its people.
So, what comes next when choosing the town’s permanent town administrator? Well, Swampscott recently formed a search committee equipped with five members who will be in charge of putting out a job description and interviewing candidates. At the time of this interview, Cresta admitted that he plans on applying for the position and has a vision for the town.
“I’d like to see young professionals being able to live here,” he said. “I worry because I have three children who all graduated from college. They’re all looking to buy a home, and I’m worried about Swampscott being too expensive to live in. I want to find ways to reduce the amount of taxes while not affecting the quality of life.”
