Planning and Zoning Director Seth Creighton poses for a portrait on his last day on the job on Memorial Street in Franklin, on Friday afternoon. (Daniel Sarch/The Laconia Daily Sun photo)
After three years on the job, this city’s Director of Planning and Zoning director, Seth Creighton, resigned to accept a position in Rochester. His last day was July 26. He cites Mill City Park as one of his biggest achievements in the role.
“The position that I’m getting is a step up in my career. It’s for a much larger community, there’s an increase in pay,” Creighton said. “The benefits of the job that I’m seeing, though, and I’m hoping for, are I have more resources there.”
Creighton was traveling over an hour round trip from Alton to work in Franklin. In his new role as director of planning and development for Rochester, the proximity from home to work was a big factor in his decision as well.
“From a personal perspective, I have a young family and being home more is huge. Being closer to home is huge. And a little bit of additional money is good,” he said. “And then from the professional perspective, I’m at the point in my career that I want to do more planning. Proper planning, like long-term planning projects, implementing master planning concepts, implementing public improvement projects, and this new position will allow me to do it. Here, so much of my time is eaten up with immediate daily planning tasks.”
City Manager Judie Milner worked closely with Creighton. She said she’s sad to see him go, but excited for his future.
“I was feeling badly for Franklin, but very, very happy for him,” Milner said. “It says a lot that a bigger community actively recruited him and it speaks volumes about his professionalism and what he’s done for Franklin.”
Planning and zoning director isn’t the only role Creighton is leaving. Due to limited staff, Creighton also held the titles of special project coordinator and director of the building department. While happy to fulfill all these roles, he’s looking forward to narrowing his focus in Rochester.
“In Rochester, there’s going to be myself, there’s three other planners and an administrative assistant, and that department in Rochester will focus on planning zoning and development. There’s a separate Economic Development Department in Rochester. There’s a separate building department in Rochester,” he said. “So essentially, all the tasks that I’m doing now are divided amongst three separate departments over literally 15 people. When Franklin is doing it with two, right now.”
Being responsible for three positions made it difficult for Creighton to fulfill the goals he had for the city. One such goal, and the primary reason for accepting the job in Franklin, was the nonprofit Mill City Park whitewater features.
“Franklin had an opportunity that’s once-in-a-lifetime for a city planner, to try to install and to get support for funding for a public park that’s in the river. And there’s nowhere else in New England that has that, and that was really intriguing to me,” Creighton said. “It took a bit longer than I thought it would, to be honest with you. It took nearly three years, but the next phase of it is fully funded.”
Mill City Park has been a much-discussed endeavor. The park is primarily funded through state and federal grants, as well as money from the Tax Increment Financing, or TIF, District. While some residents and city officials see it as a way to bring in more tourism and tax dollars, others think it is a distraction from other problems within the city, like school funding or road maintenance. Park founder Marty Parichand praised Creighton for his work on the whitewater park, and emphasized its economic benefit to the city.
“We’re a property-poor community that has a bunch of aging infrastructure issues. This idea that we have plenty of money, it’s just hidden in the budget and people can’t get to it, is not true,” he said. “We need to grow the tax base.”
Creighton believes these issues are not mutually exclusive. He acknowledged issues facing Franklin, but said his job was to identify where the city could grow, and believes the park will do that in the future, bringing increased funding to the budget.
“We’re all taxpayers, whether here, or in another community. None of us like to pay more money than we need to. But when there’s a need, you present the need, and as a department head, we’re hired. It’s our job to look out for the best interests of the city,” he said.
Creighton also pushed for renovations to the Franklin Opera House. The City Council scheduled a public hearing on a bond for renovations for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 3, at the Elks Lodge.
These types of long-term projects will be what Creighton is responsible for in Rochester.
“One of the things that I’ll probably be tasked with in Rochester is building off of their downtown master plan,” Creighton said. “The master plan is the big vision for the city. What does the city want to grow up to look like in 25 years?”
The person tasked with finding a replacement for Creighton is Milner. She, with the help of a committee, will evaluate and interview applicants. The committee is made up of six people, three representing the city, and three outside members. The committee consists of a member of the Lakes Region Planning Commission, another person who works with planning and zoning directors throughout the state, and city department heads, as well as herself. After the committee selects a candidate, city council must vote on the choice in 10 days. Milner said council has never objected to a choice in her 15 years on the job. Milner described what she is looking for in a new director.
“I need that person who can think outside the box, and also is not afraid to say, ‘Whoa, let’s not do that yet, and here’s why,’” she said. “That person needs to be the one that can be the devil’s advocate of the city, and always looking at things from every angle, and not afraid to jump up and say, even if it’s my idea, ‘That’s a bad idea right now, and here’s why.’”
Ward 3 City Councilor Leigh Webb served on the heritage commission with Creighton, and as chair of the legislative committee, said many issues he dealt with were things Creighton was involved in as well. Webb said he and Creighton had a “distinct rapport.”
“I think it’s important that whoever replaces him is approachable by all parties and has the personality to deal with those issues which might be slightly contentious,” Webb said. “Seth was good with people. You really need to be a people person to be an effective planning zoning director, and I’m hoping that his replacement will have those qualities.”
Despite leaving, Creighton has an affinity for Franklin, and looking retrospectively, he believes he and the city have accomplished a lot in the past few years. He pointed out that in his time, 15 new businesses, and a number of expansions of existing businesses, have come to Franklin, as well as approximately 160 multi-family housing units, 30 single-family homes, and six accessory dwelling units.
“I do think if the city takes a step back and looks at the progress they’ve made over the last five years, they should pat themselves on the back. A lot of communities with more staff and more money haven’t done the same, couldn’t do the same,” Creighton said. “It’s taken a lot of creative individuals to find the funding. It’s taken a lot of folks on all different boards and committees and the public just to support these things. And that’s really what’s going to keep this community going is to keep that momentum going and keeping the creativity and the hard work going, and support it.”
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