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Brad Delisle, a 20-year veteran of the Recreation & Parks Department, has been promoted to parks, facilities and permits director, stepping into a role left vacant by the retirement of his predecessor and longtime mentor, Peter James.
Delisle started in the position on Tuesday. Jaime Bloch, superintendent of recreation and parks for Marblehead, said in an email sent Tuesday that Delisle's "experience, knowledge of our facilities, and long-standing commitment to the community make him a great fit for this role."
The appointment elevates a lifelong Marblehead resident who began working for the department as a seasonal groundskeeper in April 2005 and rose through the ranks to become working foreman, a position he held for roughly nine years. In that role, Delisle managed a small grounds crew responsible for the care of more than 80 town-owned properties, including parks, athletic fields, cemeteries, public buildings, waterfronts and courts.
The scope of that responsibility is considerable. The department oversees approximately 45 public properties listed in town reports, but the grounds crew's actual workload stretches well beyond that figure when accounting for cemeteries and other municipal sites not captured in official tallies. Major coastal holdings include Devereux Beach, Chandler Hovey Park, Crocker Park, Fort Sewall and Riverhead Beach. The department also maintains Seaside Park, Piper Field, Gatchell Playground and a collection of neighborhood playgrounds, as well as the Judy and Gene Jacobi Community Center on Humphrey Street. In partnership with the Marblehead Conservancy, the department helps maintain five miles of trails and 150 acres of conservation land, including the Marblehead Rail Trail.
The grounds crew operates on a five-day-per-week mowing schedule from April through November, prepares and lines athletic fields for Marblehead High School varsity and junior varsity sports and maintains facilities used by youth leagues for baseball, softball, lacrosse, football and soccer. During winter months, department personnel and equipment fold into the town's snow removal operations alongside the Department of Public Works.
In an interview following his first Recreation and Parks Commission meeting Tuesday night, Delisle said his career in the department was unplanned. He took the seasonal job out of necessity after high school and stayed.
"School didn't really work out. So I started seasonal," Delisle said. "And then guys just got stuck."
Delisle grew up in town, first on Broome Road and later in Lincoln Park. His family has deep roots in Marblehead municipal service. His father worked for the town for 40 years across the cemetery department, water and sewer and the highway department, and his grandfather served as a captain at the Franklin Street fire station for roughly 30 years.
Asked about his approach to the work, Delisle described it in simple terms.
"It's pretty straightforward," he said. "Just kind of make it look best as you can, for the public."
As director, Delisle said he is ready to take on the broader strategic responsibilities the role requires after years focused on hands-on outdoor maintenance. He acknowledged that the transition to a leadership position overseeing long-term planning is something he will need to grow into.
"I've kind of been doing the outside maintenance for so long," Delisle said. "I'm ready to move up and see the bigger picture. Not so much cutting grass."
Delisle credited his working relationship with Bloch, saying she has been supportive since he was a foreman. He also noted the department faces staffing challenges, with one crew member currently out with a shoulder injury and a new hire needed to fill the vacancy created by his own promotion. The current grounds crew consists of a foreman, three groundskeepers and a turf specialist, with roughly four or five workers handling daily mowing and property upkeep at any given time. The department has struggled in recent years to recruit seasonal maintenance workers, at times relying on subcontractors to meet groundskeeping demands.
If he could secure funding for one major improvement, Delisle said he would prioritize Seaside Park, which he described as needing significant work. He grew up playing sports on the town's fields, including at Seaside, and his parents once ran the food shed there.
Delisle succeeds James, who retired effective Jan. 30 after 39 years with the town. James served in several roles during his career, including seasonal grounds maintenance worker, park foreman and a position in the Department of Health before becoming superintendent of Marblehead Recreation & Parks.
In that role, James led the grounds team and oversaw community engagement related to landscaping, maintenance and waste removal for more than 80 town properties, parks, athletic fields, beaches, historic sites, courts and public landings.
Bloch praised James' contributions, saying his dedication "enhanced the environment and the quality of life for the residents of Marblehead." She added that James would continue to serve the department's recreational programs part time.
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