The Dublin Planning Board is interviewing for a new secretary this week after the resignation of Neil Sandford.
Sandford, who also acts as secretary for the Zoning Board of Adjustment and as an alternate to both boards, will be retaining those positions. Sandford said the Planning Board meets more frequently than the ZBA, and the time commitment has become too onerous for him to continue as secretary, though he said he has no issue with the board or the duties themselves.
“The Planning Board is a superb group of people that has been easy to work for, especially the chairman, [Bruce Simpson]. He’s tops in my book. I have had no issues with the board itself,” Sandford said.
Sanford said because of his other commitments, he often needed to stay and finish Planning Board work after their meetings, and said another person would be able to manage the position better.
“It was a lot of late nights,” he said.
Thursday, Sept. 1, is Sandford’s last day, and the date of the next scheduled Planning Board meeting. Board members plan to meet with two candidates for Sanford’s replacement, and Sandford said he will be able to provide some transitional support for the new candidate if one is hired on Thursday.
Sandford said his duties to the board are “many and varied” and include taking minutes of the meetings, issuing decision letters and abutter notices, posting the public notices for hearings and meetings and updating the land-use code book. He also provides preliminary advice to applicants with questions. He said the number of hours he works can fluctuate, but it is a part-time position that generally requires about 10 to 15 hours monthly. Sandford earned $19.20 per hour in the position.
In other Planning Board news, during the board’s Aug. 11 meeting, Chair Bruce Simpson announced that he has taken a job as a planner in Hanover. The position may require that he eventually move closer to his job, and he would no longer be able to serve if he were not a Dublin resident. Simpson clarified to the Ledger-Transcript that he does not have immediate plans to move, and was simply ensuring the board was prepared for the possibility in the future.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.