Right: Soon-to-be-former Town Planner Jennifer Burney at a December Planning Board meeting (Image from SAM video)
Last week, a Planning Board meeting popped up that I couldn’t attend. So I missed big news
(In fact I rarely do make it to an in-person meeting these days. But Southborough Access Media is usually able to cover the ones I want to see, allowing me to virtually attend. Unfortunately, they were unable to cover this one.)
Today, the Planning Board posted their agenda for Thursday night, alerting me that there is a Town Planner vacancy to be discussed. Our current Planner confirmed the news.
Jennifer Burney says her last day will be this Friday. She tells me that she’s taking on a new job in Lincoln as the “Director of Planning and Land Use”.
Burney sees the move as a career opportunity but also said they she will miss Southborough. She appreciated the opportunity to work with “some great individuals” and on great projects.
The Planner has been in her role only since fall of 2013. But Burney quickly became a key player in our small Town government with fingers in many pies. So, it will be a critical role for the Town to fill.
(The effort and other discussions around that role gave the board quite a few headaches the last time around.)
I have a lot of questions that I’m still waiting on answers for (like what are their interim plans, and does this effect anything headed to Town Meeting.) But I expect most will be addressed at the Thursday meeting, which SAM tells me they will be covering live.
