Highway/Water Superintendent

Jim Fletcher serves as the current Highway and Water Superintendent for the Town of Canandaigua, bringing more than thirty years of private and public sector management as well as fifteen years in local government experience to his position.  His penchant for leadership began early for Jim, as his urge to lead people and take command of issues that came his way led him to owning his own construction company and volunteering as a firefighter for the Clifton Springs Fire Department.  In his more than twenty years of service, he climbed the ranks of Lieutenant, Second Assistant Chief, First Assistant Chief, and finally Fire Chief for the department. He also served as Secretary, Vice President and Safety Officer during his tenure.

For the past fifteen years, Jim has taken great pride serving the Town of Canandaigua as Highway and Water Superintendent.  During his time in local government, Jim has held steadfast to his mission of leading by example, helping others in need, collaborating to find solutions, protecting the town’s natural resources, maintaining a steady tax rate for residents utilizing current technologies in road maintenance, and managing assets to maximize return on investments for the local government and townspeople.  Jim also has been the past president and vice president of the Ontario County Highway and Village superintendents’ association. Jim currently is an executive committee member of the New York State Association of Town Superintendents of Highways. 

Jim has successfully managed the town’s highway and water budget of more than $7 million annually, and effectively supervised the work of twenty full-time employees.  In 2011 and 2014, and 2023 he directed the response to catastrophic flooding of many town roads, mitigating further damage to many homes, vehicles and other assets.  In 2017 Jim oversaw the construction of a new 42,000 square foot highway facility.  Other contributions Jim has made for the Town include securing more than $220,000 in grant money for a flood relief project and shared services for new equipment, co-creating his department’s annual budget, and coordinating town design standards to streamline the procurement process for standard materials.  He also collaborated with members of town staff and other public agencies to secure funds to construct three stormwater facilities to help protect Canandaigua Lake. Jim's latest accomplishment is assisting with coordinating the construction of a new $7.5 million water capitol project on improving the water district system. Jim also helped secure $ 3.5 million in grant money for this capitol project.   This project will allow the town to be ready for future growth and current demands of the water system for the next 50 years. 

In his free time, Jim enjoys taking on projects in his barn, wood working, camping and spending time with his family.  He, and his wife of nineteen years, Kim, have two daughters, Grace, 19, and Alexandra, 30.  Jim is a proud father, dedicated husband, and committed to the Town of Canandaigua.