Today Is Last Day For Bar Harbor Highway Division Superintendent Bill Soukop
Returning to Lobster Fishing and Chasing His Dreams
BAR HARBOR—On September 28, 2009, Bill Soukup was hired by the Town of Bar Harbor Highway Division as a “driver C.” This position required a commercial driver’s license. Bill didn’t have one, but he had a six-month probationary period in which to acquire one. He did.
Today, January 17 will be Bill’s last day as highway division superintendent and town employee, and on Wednesday, January 15, there was a lunch gathering at the Hull’s Cove public works building to honor Bill’s time with the town.
“I am going to pursue some of my personal goals and go back to commercial fishing full-time,” Bill said.
“It has been a pleasure and an honor to work with Bill for the last 16 years. He is a valued colleague. Smart, hardworking, problem solving, dedicated to service are a few of the words I use to describe Bill. Bar Harbor highway superintendent position is a huge position . . . . The guy can do it all with grace! He will certainly be missed and I wish him the best in his next endeavor!” Bar Harbor Finance Director Sarah Gilbert said.
During the gathering, Public Works Director Bethany Leavitt gave a short talk thanking Bill for his service and his contributions to the highway division and the town as a whole.
According to Leavitt, Bill’s original radio call number was 309 and jumped all the way up to 302 when he was promoted to foreman of the highway division in 2018. In 2021 he became the highway division’s interim superintendent and call number 301 and was officially appointed the superintendent a few months later.
A few of Bill’s contributions to the town that went above his normal duties, according to Leavitt, are listed below.
Bill “modified ditching standards including sizing of culverts and the way of restoring the culvert inlet and outlet ends so they don’t need frequent maintenance.”
Bill “refurbished the Glen Mary Pool’s changing and restroom facility.”
Bill “concreted the Glen Mary Pool swing set into the ground, thereby ensuring it never leaves the site.”
Bill “took on the salt priority operations and transformed each truck’s application of salt and truly optimized the town’s salt priority operations and has saved the town significant money in the process as well as improving the safety of the roads.”
Bill “handmade the wooden clock in the public works building entryway.” Not only did Bill make the clock in the public works building lobby when the department moved to that location, but he has made clocks as departure gifts for many retirees over the years.
Obviously, there is some departmental humor embedded in those accolades, but Leavitt showed her genuine appreciation of the time Bill spent with the town by saying, “It was a pleasure to work with you for the last five years and on behalf of the Town of Bar Harbor and all its employees, thank you for all your positive contributions to the town and personal sacrifices you made over the past 15-plus years.”
Town Manager James Smith said, “Bill has been a dedicated member of the Bar Harbor Public Works Department for many years, and we greatly appreciate his service and commitment to the town. A hardworking and knowledgeable individual, Bill has made significant contributions to the maintenance and improvement of the town roads and infrastructure. His presence will be greatly missed, and we wish him the very best in his future endeavors.”
Smith had the opportunity to ride around with Bill while he worked on January 10 as part of Bill’s exit interview.
“We had a candid and insightful conversation where he shared his perspective on the future challenges and opportunities facing the community. His insights were valuable, and I deeply appreciate his willingness to have such an open discussion,” said Smith.
“I have learned a lot and worked with a lot of great people, the town has tons of great employees, and it has been a pleasure working with all of them,” Bill said but also said that he is looking forward to returning to lobster fishing full-time and chasing some of his own dreams and ideas.
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Thank you,Bill!