Preston — Jim Corley has spent his first month as the town’s new public works manager driving through town and getting to know its roads and bridges, making notes of road and drainage problem spots and overhanging trees that could come down in a storm.

Corley, 36, is the first to fill the newly created position of public works manager, an enhanced role for the head of the Public Works Department upon the retirement of former longtime highway foreman Bob Boyd.

“I am excited about the position, being new,” Corley said this week. “Anyone who got this position would have the opportunity to take the position and run with it and make it their own.”

He lives in East Hartland with his wife and two young children: a daughter, 5, and a son, 3½.

He said it has been his professional goal “all along” to head a municipal public works department, and he especially enjoys working in a small town like his hometown. A former U.S. Marine Corps Reserve member, Corley previously worked for seven years in Simsbury, most recently as engineering inspector for the Simsbury Department of Water Pollution Control. He also had administered, coordinated, scheduled, inspected and managed quality control efforts for multiple projects in the Simsbury Public Works Department.

Prior to his positions in Simsbury, Corley worked for the city of Bristol as a laborer and truck driver. Prior to that, he was lead carpenter for Kruse Home Improvement.

Corley has an associate degree in construction management from Capital Community College and is working on a business management and administration degree at Northwestern Connecticut Community College. He has focused on engineering technology and industrial engineering in his academic pursuits.

He started in Preston on March 15 at a salary of $70,000.

“I’ve been trying to get a handle on the Public Works Department, the transfer station,” Corley said. “I met with employees, some residents, boards. I want to have a good relationship with residents and employees and formulate a work plan.”

Although it is difficult to meet residents during the coronavirus pandemic, Corley said just being out on the roads and visible in neighborhoods has helped. He stops to check out a drainage issue, or examine an overhanging tree, and often is greeted by residents.

“I like working with the public,” Corley said. “It’s something I always enjoyed doing. When I worked as a carpenter for a while, I really enjoyed working with customers.”

First Selectwoman Sandra Allyn-Gauthier said the town went through a rigorous selection process to fill the position, created in December when Boyd announced plans to retire. She had asked town Finance Director John Spang and public works consultant Steve Masalin — Ledyard's public works director — to work on the job description.

The town received about 20 applicants, and Allyn-Gauthier, Spang and Masalin narrowed down the selection and interviewed 10 candidates. The interviewers ranked the responses, narrowed the list to four finalists, who were invited back for interviews and to write a scenario analysis to a problem presented shortly before the interviews.

“It’s a very important job,” Allyn-Gauthier said. “We’re kind of at that pivotal time, so we wanted to make sure we had a prudent, rigorous process.”

Preston has not had a public works director for the department that has five full-time employees, including Corley, and three part-time transfer station attendants. Former 24-year First Selectman Robert Congdon also served as Public Works Department director, receiving an additional stipend on top of his first selectman salary for the dual duties. After he retired, the Board of Selectmen asked Masalin to help with specific issues, spending and policies.

c.bessette@theday.com