Cleaves tapped as county's Director of Strategic Initiatives and Special Projects

ALFRED, Maine  –  Arthur “Art” Cleaves will be taking on a new role with York County government – designed to advance programs like coastal resilience along with other initiatives with a countywide benefit – upon his retirement from emergency management on Jan. 1.

York County Commissioners voted unanimously to name Cleaves as Director of Strategic Initiatives and Special Projects at their Wednesday, Nov. 4 meeting.

It is a new position and is funded through grant dollars, not the annual county budget.

Commissioners began discussing current and future county endeavors in August, well before Cleaves’ Oct. 21 announcement of his pending retirement as Director of York County Emergency Management Agency.

The new role involves advancing initiatives that have been authorized, funded, or partially developed but have not reached full implementation or operational capacity, according to York County Manager Greg Zinser.

“I can think of no one more suited to this endeavor than Art Cleaves,” said Zinser. “He has vast knowledge and the passion for the work, and he is well known and respected from Maine to Washington.”

The position involves development of the program from the ground up, along with carrying out the mission.

Cleaves will coordinate resources, partnerships, administrative processes, and operational planning to bring initiatives to successful completion, according to the job description. Initial responsibilities include coordinating coastal resiliency initiatives, project management and oversight for Congressionally Directed Spending awards, oversight of emerging county programs and services, and more.

Cleaves noted that one focus of his new role is to continue to work with coastal communities to help see to it that additional resiliency efforts – beyond programs that helped stem the damage following a pair of punishing coastal storms  in early 2024 – come to fruition, among other endeavors.

“There are a lot of good reasons try to help the towns in southern Maine,” he said, “And York County is a big economic driver for the whole state.”

Cleaves said he appreciates York County government’s forward thinking – citing their decision to use federal ARPA and other funding for construction of the York County Regional Training Center that is up and running, and the York County Recovery Center, poised to open in the first quarter of 2027.

County officials say they appreciate Cleaves, who came to the agency in 2015 after stints as administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s New England region, director of the Maine Emergency Management Agency and the state’s Homeland Security office. Previously, he had retired at the rank of colonel after 30 years with the Maine Army National Guard.

In an interview following the announcement of his retirement from his role as director of York County EMA, Cleaves said, in part, that he “wants always to contribute.”

County officials note Cleaves’ new role ensures that he will – to the benefit of York County as a whole.