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"It's an excellent professional opportunity for me and a way to get back to where we're from," he said.
Bridges said the town's consultant notified him of the job. He said he was impressed with the town during his visit and feels it will also be a great place for he and his wife to raise their son and daughter.
"It's very nice. I was very impressed," he said of his visit to town.
Although town operations may vary a little from state to state, Bridges said towns and cities everywhere are facing similar challenges - decreased revenues and increased needs.
Most municipalities are facing the same problems," he said. "It's kind of a universal story right now."
From April 1997 to June of 2008, Bridges served as city administrator for Andover, Kansas, a city of about 10,000. According to his resume, he oversaw such projects as the Andover Parks and Open Space Master Plan including the purchase and development of a new 80 acre city park, the transition of a County Fire District to City operation and administration, the design and construction of new police station and a state of the art 911 emergency communications center. Projects implemented included a road rehabilitation program with a voter approved dedicated sales tax and capital improvement programs using impact fees on new development.
Despite working in such a fast-growing city, Wethersfield with a population of some 26,000 will be much larger than Andover, which had about 10,000 residents.
Bridges has a master of arts degree in public administration from Marist College and a bachelors of arts degree in history and international relations from State University at Plattsburgh. He spent the spring of 1990 at the University of Copenhagen for a study abroad program in Central European Studies.
After school he was a manager for the Amerada Hess Corp before moving into public service. During that time he also took several specialized course of study.
Bridges said he feels community involvement is important and has served as chairman of the Greater Andover Days Festival Committee, in the Andover Kiwanis Club, the Andover Area Chamber of Commerce and as a volunteer firefighter while in New York. He is also a member of the Butler County, Kansas, Community Emergency Response Team.
In Wethersfield, Bridges said his first task will be to get to know people and get different perspectives and learn how the town wants to move forward.
"I'm just excited about the opportunity and looking forward to getting started," he said.
