RECREATION DIRECTOR IS LATEST DEPARTMENT HEAD TO DEPART TOWN HALL

Maplewood is losing its third department head in just the past two months with Recreation Director Keith Knudsen announcing he will leave for a new job in Roxbury.

"The reason is that Roxbury is much closer to where I live and I made the decision for my family," Knudsen, who has been on the job for about three years, said via email. "I am really going to miss Maplewood and this was one of the most difficult decisions I have had to make. I am leaving behind a wonderful town and some great people."

Knudsen said his last day will be February 24.

Since December, Knudsen is the third such department head to announce a departure. Code Enforcement Office Robert Mittermaier gave the bad news in December he would leave later this year after 31 years on the job, while Township Engineer Tom Malavasi is also leaving.

Those departures follow the loss of former Public Works Director Eric Burbank, Fire Chief Joseph Richardella, and Chief Financial Officer Peter Fresulone in the past three years. But their replacements have proven up to the task, most notably current CFO Juan Uribe, who has made a habit of finding money in some accounts that were previously unused