Swampscott hires new town planner

SWAMPSCOTT – Selectmen voted unanimously to appoint Sean Peter Kane as the new town planner/energy efficiency manager, filling what town officials said was a position that had been “missed” in town.”I want to offer you a cautionary comment – the number of topics that people brought up to me for you to work on ?” Selectman Jill Sullivan said at the board’s Wednesday night meeting.”You’ll be the busiest guy in town,” Selectman Richard Malagrifa added.Swampscott has not had a town planner since 2007, when the position was eliminated after only two years. But Board Chair Matt Strauss noted that town officials – and this board of selectmen in particular – have long advocated for the position. Town Administrator Andrew Maylor agreed, saying the town had “missed” a planner as it tried to work on projects to revitalize Humphrey Street and sell town properties. He told the board that he was “extremely satisfied” to present them with a planner at his last meeting before he begins a new position as Town Manager in North Andover.Kane’s position is funded through a combination of money from the $143,800 Green Communities grant that the town received this spring and from the annual budget approved at Town Meeting. He will dedicate two thirds of his time to planning issues and the remaining third of the time to energy issues, Maylor told Selectmen. He said that one of Kane’s greatest strengths was his willingness to expand from working on specific projects to ultimately taking responsibility for “driving the issues” on which he will focus.Kane is expected to graduate from Tufts University with a Master of Arts in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning in 2012, according to a copy of his resume. He graduated from the University of Tampa with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications (Screenwriting) in 2000.His resume listed work experience with Neoscape, Inc., a firm that creates three-dimensional design illustrations. He also listed internships with the New Ecology Inc. and the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations where he served as a researcher, web designer and programmer on green and sustainable affordable housing and development. He also listed projects with the cities of Somerville and Cambridge on his resume and he serves as co-chair of the Planners Network Boston Chapter.Maylor said that Kane will work twice a week and start full-time shortly after the holidays. Maylor did not cite Kane’s specific salary, but previously told the Daily Item that the position would have a salary range of between $45,000 and $50,000.”I’m really excited about getting started,” Kane said at the meeting.Cyrus Moulton can be reached at [email protected].