A group of Rindge citizens who have made several objections to Planning Director Kirk Stenersen’s full-time work as an engineer, which has included work on developments within town, have put forth a petition article for this year’s Town Meeting warrant directing the town to adopt a conflict of interest ordinance.
Stenersen is a part-time employee of Rindge and is only in the office one day a week. He also owns and manages Higher Design, PLLC, an engineering design firm. In his position as an engineer, he has presented for applicants to the town’s planning and zoning boards.
Among residents who signed the petition to put the article on this year’s warrant are ones who earlier this year, submitted a petition to the Planning Board asking for Stenersen’s removal and replacement with “an individual without interests in the building and/or real estate industry in the town.” The board did not act on the petition. Some of the signers of the petition also filed a complaint with the state’s Office of Professional Licensure and Certification against Stenersen, a process which is still ongoing.
In the past, Planning Board Chair Jonah Ketola has dismissed concerns regarding Stenersen presenting projects to the board in his capacity as an engineer, saying Stenersen recuses himself from those cases and discloses those conflicts. He said Stenersen’s industry experience is an asset to the town,not a drawback, and that it was rare to find someone in a part-time position with those kinds of qualifications.
Ketola said the article was “small town politics,” and just the freshest round in the debate, which the board has been responding to since at least July.
“It’s the same old song and dance. We’ve been through this whole rodeo,” Ketola said, adding that he had not read the proposed ordinance in detail, although the Planning Board was aware of it, and declined to comment on it.
“It’s going to come down to the townspeople. We’ll just have to see how it plays out and let the people speak,” he said.
Stenersen did not respond to a request for comment.
Jeffrey Dickler and Judy Unger-Clark were the main organizers of the petition article, and Unger-Clark has made several public statements against Stenersen’s position as planning director to both the Planning Board and Select Board. Dickler said the petition article was “inspired by” Stenersen’s position, but would apply to all town employees and officials.
Elected officials, even if alleged to have breached the ethics ordinance, could still only be removed from office through the court system, a process laid out by law.
“The whole concept extends a lot further than just Kirk Stenersen,” Dickler said. “It’s not strictly about Kirk; the application is much larger than that. Other towns have similar ordinances.”
However, Dickler said he maintains the position that Stenersen should not hold the position of planning director, noting that though he does not have a vote in Planning Board decisions, his recommendations influence the board.
Included in the proposed ordinance is a judiciary standard that there can’t be an employment relationship between the town and someone presenting cases before the Planning Board.
“People just don’t push back,” Dickler said, of the board’s acceptance of Stenersen’s recommendations.
The ordinance will appear on the town warrant in March, and requires a simple majority of voters to pass.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.