By Theresa Knapp 

The general consensus among most town officials is that Hopedale needs a Town Planner, and fast. 

“I feel like it’s a huge benefit to the town and well worth whatever we decide the salary is going to be,” Select Board Chair Glenda Hazard said at a joint meeting with the Planning Board on Sept. 12. 

“This position is very much needed as a piece that’s very clearly missing, particularly to those of us who are on the front lines,” said Planning Board Chair Stephen Chaplin. “The consequences of not having this person are pretty dire.” 

Chaplin told the Select Board last year that his board needed help keeping up with all the planning that is happening in town. 

At this year’s Annual Town Meeting, voters allocated funds to fund a Town Planner position. Those funds are earmarked in the Reserve Fund and can be transferred when needed. 

At the boards’ Sept. 12 meeting, Town Administrator Diana Schindler shared a job description “from the file” that had been drafted 12 years ago, on April 2, 2010. 

“This need’s been there for more than a decade,” said Chaplin. “The job description we’re working off of is 12 years old so that means it’s probably been a need for two or more decades.” 

Select Board member Brian Keyes said the town needs someone with professional expertise to take the lead regarding planning matters. “We have more going on as far as development in this town right now than we have probably had in the last five years,” said Keyes. “The problem is the Town of Hopedale can’t get out of its own way and we don’t have anyone giving any sort of direction.” 

He said the town needs help or, “at the end of the day, we’re either going to go bankrupt or we’re going to get annexed to a neighboring town because we just cannot keep doing this, it’s not sustainable.” 

The boards will work to refine the job description, review the current market to gauge the proper salary and job qualifications, and will consider the merits of hiring a third-party consultant or a temporary person. At press time, they were set to continue discussions in September. 

Schindler estimated it would take two months to fill the position, once the job description was finalized.