Planning files and papers clutter Windham’s vacant town planner office. Now used for storage, the office looks much the same as it did when former town planner George Dycio was still rifling through building applications and reviewing projects.
When Dycio left unexpectedly this March, his duties fell on the shoulders of Community Development Director Roger Timmons. Since, Timmons has acted as both the town planner and chief code enforcer.
This double role is nothing new for Timmons, who has often worn “both hats” in the past, he says.
However, with the constant rate of new development in Windham, the lack of a town planner has put a strain on planning staff and members of the Windham Planning Board who review projects for approval.
This burden will hopefully be lifted in coming months as the town looks to separate the Planning Office from the Code Enforcement office and hire a new town planner and a director of the planning office.
The new “Planning Director” will oversee all operations in the office while the “Town Planner” would review development applications and look at commercial and residential zoning in town. The creation of these positions will not change this fiscal year’s budget.
With the expansion of the Windham Town Offices into the newly renovated Aikens Annex, there is finally room to make this restructuring possible. For the past two years, the town has budgeted to hire new planning staff, but stalled the process until space became available.
In announcing these changes to the Windham Town Council on Tuesday, Town Manager Anthony Plante noted that Timmons is looking to retire in the near future and that it would be rare to find someone with the same “unique blend” of knowledge and experience that Timmons brings to his job.
With the restructuring, Timmons would no longer have authority over both offices as a Community Development Director and would instead become the Chief Code Enforcement Officer. The title of Community Development Director was created in 1990 when the two departments merged after conflicts between a former town planner and Timmons.
Timmons explained these past conflicts to the council and how the departments can “butt heads” over issues of town regulations, ordinances and zoning.
As long as the town chooses wisely for these positions, there should be no problem with the department separation, but good communication between the departments is essential, Timmons said. Though separate, the departments would still share files and information on a daily basis and keep in constant communication, he said.
Pending council approval of the restructuring, the town will begin interviewing candidates for the two positions. Regardless of their experience and education, whoever takes the job will have much learning to do as to how Windham operates. And Timmons, who’s worked for the town more than 30 years, is committed to mentoring the new planners.
“It isn’t just the ordinances, it’s the history of what’s happened in town,” Timmons said. “And I’d like to pass that on to whoever is willing to listen and learn.”
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