City hires interim planner, investigation into Trefethen likely to continue for 'months'

LACONIA — An ongoing investigation into Dean Trefethen, former city planning director, is likely to continue for months, meanwhile the city has begun early steps in the search for a new permanent director.

The city has hired Kathy Menici as a contracted interim planning director for at least three months, City Manager Kirk Beattie said. Menici was the city planning director in Portsmouth from 1987 to 1994 and has also been planning director in the towns of Alton, Wakefield and Farmington. Since 2015, she has worked in the private sector as a land use consultant, according to Beattie. 

Trefethen suddenly resigned at the end of April, as the Laconia Police Department launched a criminal investigation involving at least one other law enforcement agency — the Sanford Police Department in Sanford, Maine, where Trefethen is a resident. 

Laconia Police Chief Matthew Canfield told The Daily Sun Tuesday the investigation would likely stretch on for “several months” before charges could be brought. Last week, according to Canfield, Sanford police sent evidence to Maine’s state crime lab, which is experiencing delays.

Despite the investigation’s lengthy timeline, Canfield said he “expect[s] there will be charges.”

Law enforcement has not disclosed the scope of the investigation, but no other city employees are implicated, according to Canfield and Beattie.

Taking on an interim planner allows the city time to initiate a thorough search process for a permanent replacement, Beattie said, a process which is currently in its early stages. 

In the meantime, Beattie said he looks forward to what Menici’s experience and outsider perspective can bring to the city, noting she can “advise on areas where we may need adjustments.” 

Trefethen had been Laconia’s planning director since 2017, and previously was a longtime zoning board member, city councilor and mayor of the city of Dover.