By Kristen Levine
Bill Caldwell of Athol has joined the Sterling community as the new town administrator in the Spring
of 2022. An experienced administrator with three years of administration in the Berkshires in the small
town of Becket, Caldwell brings a keen interest in leadership to his new position.
“I spent seven years teaching in Athol. I started in the school committee; I was fairly young when I
got in there; I had some family members involved there and also wanted to become a teacher,”
Caldwell said. “Being involved in the school department was helpful…I joined the Select Board and it
was interesting; being on the Board pushed me towards [the town administrative] side of things.”
After leaving Becket, Caldwell finds Sterling to be a strong step in building a career in a leadership
role. Caldwell found the listing on the Massachusetts Municipal Association alongside other Worcester
County roles and decided to try his hand with Sterling.
“I didn’t expect to leave Becket, but it’s rare for a role like this to open in your back yard,” he said.
With the closer commute and more active environment in Sterling, Caldwell has settled into the role
and is looking to the future of myriad projects to improve the town.
“There’s [plans for] downtown revitalization, sidewalk plans, infrastructure plans…they’ve all be in
various forms for a couple of decades and it’s the hope that we can get them going,” he said. “There’s
some projects that were backed up between Covid, material shortages and changes in leadership.”
While the pandemic and material shortages are still present problems, Caldwell is optimistic about
Sterling’s planned improvements. “The town’s invested some significant funds…it will be good to see
[plans] come to fruition. It’s not going to be quick or cheap at the end of the day, but it’s something the
town’s wanted for a while. There are plans dating back to the early 2000s with what they’ve wanted to
do.”
The plans are mostly towards surveys and designs for features such as sidewalks; modern ADA
standards will have to be applied, but with the strong foundation can be updated for future town
improvements. After a month into his new position and taking on the responsibility for these plans and
projects, Caldwell has found his reception as administrator in Sterling to be a welcoming one.
“It’s been so far, so good,” he said. “There’s a good staff that’s dedicated to Sterling, and people are
really great here.”
When asked about his overarching goals for Sterling, Caldwell has a strong desire to see
improvements to the downtown area that would benefit Sterling’s residents for years to come.
“When it comes to projects, if we can get a good portion of [downtown revitalization] done, I think we
can leave things better than it was,” he said. “That’s the biggest hope.”