Bellingham Select Board Votes 3-2 to Negotiate With Joseph Leaden for Town Administrator

BELLINGHAM — July 2, 2025 — Bellingham Select Board picks Upton Town Administrator Joseph Leaden to lead the town after a 3-2 vote. The board voted Wednesday night to enter contract negotiations with Leaden, a municipal planning veteran who has served as town administrator in Upton since 2023, ending a search to replace Dennis Prokopowicz, who held the seat for approximately 37 and a half years. Board Chair Don Martinez, who nominated Leaden immediately, cited the town's immediate challenges — including 27 water main breaks since January 1, a proposed 1,600-unit residential development at the New England Country Club, a 400-megawatt battery storage project, $35 million in road construction needs, and an expected lean FY27 budget driven by rising health insurance costs — as reasons the board needed someone with "vision" rather than "more administration." Leaden secured a $4.2 million state grant for a water and sewer extension in Upton and currently oversees a TIP reconstruction project on Route 140. Board member Jennifer Combs cast one of the two dissenting votes, saying she favored Chad Love, the town administrator in Blackstone, whom she compared to Prokopowicz in his early years.