Public works director tapped as new planning dept project manager

LACONIA — The city's first project manager in the Planning Department will be a familiar face at City Hall. Public Works Director Wes Anderson will fill the position starting Jan. 5, according to City Manager Kirk Beattie.

Public Works Assistant Director Nate Guerette will fill Anderson’s role in the interim. The city will advertise for the director position beginning in January, and an interview process will begin from there. They hope to name the new director in March.

One of the first tasks Anderson will undertake is the creation of the roles and responsibilities for the position, Beattie wrote in a press release. 

Anderson was hired to lead the public works department in August 2016. A former Army engineer, he brings years of construction, planning and programming experience to the department. He’ll work in concert with city planners to develop the position, which councilors hope will work as an intermediary between project developers, contractors and City Hall.

“He has an incredible level of knowledge about this city,” Beattie said of Anderson.

Guerette, as assistant director, has a great deal of experience in engineering, and will learn a lot about operations, Anderson said. Beattie agreed, saying Guerette is a great choice to get the public works department through the winter. 

“I think he’s going to do a great job,” Beattie said. “He’s worked closely with [Anderson] since he’s been here.”

Anderson was hired following a competitive interview process and was a top-two finalist. 

“His experience in Laconia, that institutional knowledge was going to be huge,” Tyler Carmichael, Planning Department assistant director, said Friday. 

The city budget, passed by councilors in July, included funding for a project manager position in the planning department for six months at $40,583. With the gargantuan anticipated development at the former State School property on Parade Road, plus a general explosion of private development in the city over recent years, councilors expect an increased workload in the planning department. 

Beattie said the city was looking for someone with lots of construction knowledge to assist contractors and developers in navigating requirements and regulations effectively. 

“I picture the person being out in the field a lot,” Beattie said. 

“There’s a lot of development going on in a lot of different places,” Beattie said. “This is the perfect time to bring this position into the city.”  

When Planning Director Rob Mora and Carmichael initially conceived of the position, they were looking at project development as, essentially, a combination of two parts: planning and execution. The planning department is skilled on the planning side of the equation, and execution generally falls upon individual city departments.

The project manager role brings things “full circle,” Carmichael said, and Anderson will coordinate the execution of development with city departments, contractors and developers, ensuring the city isn’t holding up the development process.

“He’ll be that liaison from the city to the developer,” he said. 

The implementation of the upcoming municipal master plan is another key aspect of the job — Anderson and Carmichael agreed a successful project manager will help orchestrate its execution.

Worth noting is the city itself will undoubtedly be one of the stakeholders in each chapter of the master plan when it's finished, and the project manager will work to coordinate with departments as items come along.

“We are very excited for [Anderson] coming over here,” Carmichael said. “He’s a great addition to the team.”

For Anderson, this position is a perfect fit for a few reasons. He’s 68, and he and his wife are looking toward retirement. When the job came open, they agreed he’d take it, if offered, to help the city get the ball rolling. He anticipates serving in the position for around a year.

“It sounded interesting,” Anderson said.

“It’s really a project manager position focused on all of the private development in the city.”

His priority will be to assist in the creation and implementation of policies and procedures, and to coordinate with developers, for smart growth for the Laconia “of the future.” While the development of the former State School property certainly remains on the forefront of people’s minds, the city is growing. Anderson reflected on the past decade he’s led public works.

“The real big change is the amount of growth has been exponential.”