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Public asks about permanent planning director; county reiterates interim priorities and plans for Route 1 safety study
Summary
During public comment, Charlie Cradd, editor of New Brunswick Today, asked about the process and timeline to select a permanent planning director; the interim director said he would focus on maintaining operations and meeting the state plan deadlines.
Charlie Cradd, editor of New Brunswick Today, asked the Planning Board whether there is a timeline or process to select a permanent planning director and whether the interim director intended to seek the permanent role.
"Is there a timeline or a process in place to either make [the interim director] permanent or find a permanent person?" Charlie Cradd asked.
The interim Planning Director replied that a process should exist but said he was not personally overseeing it and could not provide a timeline. "I can't give you a timeline, Charlie, because you could have asked people and then they don't take the job," the interim Planning Director said. "My goal or objective during my time in this position is to, one, keep business going as best as we can in the absence of a permanent person in this role."
A commissioner who spoke in support said the interim director has county experience and is "extremely knowledgeable and intimately involved in a lot of county planning activities," adding that the office had not "given the keys to the car to a stranger."
On transportation and safety, the board said a transportation symposium is scheduled for March 19 at the NBPAC (New Brunswick Performing Arts Center) and that the county prosecutor would lead a multi-agency study on safety along Route 1. "The county prosecutor is taking the lead on that, and it's gonna be a multi-agency, study and team approach to try to... make the roads safer," a commissioner said.
The board closed public comment and moved on to accept staff reports. The board also offered condolences to Bernadette Shaw, a county senior engineer who recently experienced a personal loss.
No formal timeline for hiring a permanent planning director was provided in the meeting; the board and staff said the county is working on the hiring process and will share details when they are finalized.
