Within the last two weeks, Dennis Bullen has been Lincoln’s acting town manager, been told by the council he wasn’t selected to fill the position full time, and then finally given the job after the council’s first choice backed out days before he was due to start.
Bullen was appointed town manager March 10, but it’s not the first time he’s been in charge of Lincoln. Bullen has served as interim or acting town manager three times, including his most recent five-month stint before being appointed to the position full time last week.
He’s ready to help the town complete large projects that he said could bring added business and residents.
“I do feel that I can have some positive influence. I’m very excited,” Bullen said.
Lincoln is one of many former mill towns in Maine trying to strengthen its tax base and economic development. More than 10 years after the mill’s closure, the town is in the midst of large proposed economic developments, including a biorefinery being built later this year. The town is also looking to build 50 to 120 housing units for the growing workforce the refinery will bring.
Bullen said he’s already collaborating with the town staff he’s spent 10 years working with.
He’s prepared to complete large projects thanks to his predecessor, Rick Bronson. Bullen learned from Bronson, who taught him about leadership and the position before he retired this last fall, he said.
Bronson stepped down from the role in November.
“I never aspired to be the town manager, although he often encouraged me. So it just became a natural progression when he left,” Bullen said.
The town staff has been putting a lot of effort into the former mill site to accommodate Biofine Developments Northeast, the company building the refinery, Bullen said. The work will be worth it when the town sees the development break ground later this year, he said.
“That’s going to be a huge day for the town of Lincoln,” Bullen said.
Adding the refinery, and a proposed battery storage system that would be housed in the former mill site, could bring in more residents and businesses, he said.
“I think it’s just a matter of the dominoes falling. I think there’ll be more and more interest in coming here to Lincoln for a variety of reasons. You know, it’s a great place to be,” Bullen said.
Expanding housing and businesses to take in more taxes and lower the town’s budget is Bullen’s main goal, he said.
Updating the fire department’s equipment, some of which is 25 years old, is another of Bullen’s goals. The town staff is working on capital improvements like updating equipment, but it will take more than a year to accomplish, he said.
“Obviously, as a town manager, you have more than one iron in the fire. There’s always lots going on,” he said.
