LYNNFIELD — Charles Richter has been the town engineer in Lynnfield for 16 years and — guess what? He always wanted to be an engineer.
He likes the gratification when completing a project.
Originally from Vermont, Richter first worked in Wakefield as the assistant town engineer. When he acquired the position in Lynnfield, he said it was relatively new, so it was enticing for him to be able to help define and build the position.
“It was basically starting from scratch,” he said. “I was excited I was able to kind of carve it into something that I thought was valuable for both the town and interesting for me.”
Richter works with the Department of Public Works (DPW) on a variety of things, such as replacing trees, walkways, irrigation, and installing street lamps and plants in parks. He also works on buildings that are 50-60 years old and outdated.
Sometimes his role is in leadership and other times it’s in a role of assistance, as he sometimes works on a dozen projects at a time that can be thousands of dollars.
“Those projects that I am in charge of, many times I design and bid the project, as in the Lynnfield Common and the road resurfacing jobs,” he said. “For road work, I am in charge of bidding and awarding contracts for contractors that are used by two other communities through the Tri-Town Consortium, which includes Middleton and North Reading, to increase the communities ‘buying power.’”
Richter sometimes oversees consultants who assist in the design, but is the one responsible for implementing the project. He also assists various boards in Lynnfield with the review of projects proposed by various developers.
With the Planning Board, he assists with the oversight of the construction of subdivisions to ensure that they comply with their permit with the board.
He said he is responsible for addressing drainage issues around town, including identifying the root of the problem and looking at ways to solve it.
“There are also times I get involved with building issues such as capital improvement projects, such as a possible public safety building project, and the elementary school expansion that will begin construction this summer,” he said.
Richter said that he really enjoys working for a small town where he has the chance to interact with the public more closely than if he worked in a larger municipality.
“I get to be involved with a variety of different types of projects that constantly make it interesting,” he said. “I like working for the public and doing projects that are worthwhile.”
He said Lynnfield feels like his home, even though he still lives in Wakefield. He plans to continue his work there for as long as he can.
Allysha Dunnigan can be reached at [email protected].
