Town planner’s job in jeopardy

By ASHLEY SMITH, Telegraph Staff

Published: Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2007

HUDSON – After last week’s planning board vote to return the Riverplace proposal back to the developer, the fate of the temporary town planner hired to help review the plan is unclear.

“Now we don’t have a plan to look at and a contract planner,” Selectmen’s vice-chairman Shawn Jasper said at the Tuesday night board meeting.

W/S Development Inc., which hopes to build a mixed-use development with more than 2 million square feet of retail on the 375-acre Green Meadow Golf Club site, has agreed to pay the $40 an hour salary for six months.

Last month the town hired Cynthia May, a Hudson resident who was the assistant town planner in town before the position was eliminated. She began work on the same day W/S submitted its site plan.

However, because W/S did not first seek a wetlands exception from the zoning board of adjustment, the planning board voted last week to return the plans to the developer. The town ordinance prohibits the planning board from reviewing plans that impact wetlands before an exception is granted.

At Tuesday’s meeting, selectmen’s Chairman Rick Maddox said he is concerned about spending money on the temporary town planner when there’s no Green Meadow plan at Town Hall to review.

“What we don’t want to do is start churning through those dollars,” Maddox said. “It could be six month before they come back.”

Selectmen discussed the possibility of opting out of the temporary town planner’s contract by exercising the 45-day notice outlined in the deal, but decided to speak with W/S before doing so.

“It’s their dime,” Jasper said. Rick Maddox said he is concerned about spending money on the temporary town planner when there’s no Green Meadow plan at Town Hall to review.

“What we don’t want to do is start churning through those dollars,” Maddox said. “It could be six month before they come back.”

Selectmen discussed the possibility of opting out of the temporary town planner’s contract by exercising the 45-day notice outlined in the deal, but decided to speak with W/S before doing so.

“It’s their dime,” Jasper said.