By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — When former Town Planner Paul Reavis retired several years ago, the job description was rewritten and morphed into the Director of Community and Economic Development position currently occupied by Erin Kokinda.
But now some members of the Town Council say that the town needs something akin to a Town Planner position to guide the town’s long-term approach to managing development. They also want someone who can pursue grants and other funding sources for the town.
Town Councilor Anne Danehy took it upon herself to research the issue and presented her findings at this week’s Town Council meeting.
She indicated that the position envisioned would be more than just that of a town planner, but would be more like a “Director of Strategic Growth and Development.”
The position, she said, would look at all development together as part of a planned-growth strategy for the town. It would include looking at the traffic impact of development as well as other aspects related to transportation. The position would also have a role in preserving the town’s natural, historical and cultural resources.
The holder of the position would work with local boards like the Planning Board, the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Traffic Advisory Committee in reviewing proposed developments.
“We are at a critical juncture in town and we need someone to lead all the changes we will be seeing,” Danehy said. She noted that Wakefield is one of the few communities in the area that does not have a town planner.
But Town Councilor Edward Dombroski said that what other towns are doing isn’t necessarily relevant too Wakefield. He noted that some the functions of a town planner are being performed by other town employees. He proposed a “working group” to look at the current distribution of those roles and duties and determine where the “gaps” are.
Town Administrator Stephen P. Maio liked the idea of a “working group.” He acknowledged that Danehy had identified some areas of need raised some valid points.
Town Councilor Michael McLane felt that there was already enough information to support creating the new town planner position.
“I would like to fund this position,” he said. He wanted the position to report directly to Maio with regular updates to the Town Council.
Councilor Robert Vincent was also a proponent of creating the position, noting that a lot of town officials have taken on added responsibilities that could be handled by a planner.
Councilor Jonathan Chines said that he favored doing an analysis of the various roles and responsibilities currently being handled by other town employees, but he didn’t want the process to get dragged out or fall through the cracks.
Danehy was skeptical of the idea for a working group to look at the issue. She likened it to a parent saying “we’ll see” to a child. She called the current situation “unfair” to town employees who have taken on additional duties in the absence of a planner.
Danehy noted that the salary for the position would be between $84,000 and $100,000. It was suggested that the position could be largely funded by fees imposed on developers. Dombroski wanted to know to what extent such fees could fund the position.
But Maio said that he did not like the idea of directly linking fees to salaries for specific positions, in case those fees dry up for any reason.
Town Council Chair Mehreen Butt said that she would like a working group to do the analysis discussed earlier.
It was agreed that it shouldn’t take longer than a month to arrive at an idea as to whether creating a new town planner position is viable.