HARTFORD — The town’s longtime planning and development director is preparing to retire.
Lori Hirshfield, who’s worked for Hartford for 30 years, announced her retirement earlier this month, with plans to depart on or about Aug. 31.
The Hartford Planning and Development Department includes five staff members, three of whom have been staples for the past three decades. Community development planner Matt Osborn, who has worked for the town since 1997, also is retiring later this year.
To have a department run by the same people for so long, is “a luxury that not many towns can have these days,” said Town Manager John Haverstock. He pointed out the trend of jumping around to different roles in different places.
Consistency in the planning and development department has helped shape Hartford, he said.
“It has meant some real good continuity in terms of developing a vision and implementing it over time, over decades,” said Haverstock.
This team — including Hirshfield, Osborn and Zoning Administrator Jo-Ann Ells — helped facilitate a major shift in downtown White River Junction. Ells does not currently have plans to retire, she said Thursday by email.
The three all started at the department within a couple years of each other and have held the same roles ever since.
“I started working for the town in September of 1997 and on my first day of work I walked downtown at lunch and it was dead,” said Osborn.
While White River Junction was “not a healthy downtown,” 30 years ago, according to Osborn, things have changed dramatically over the years due to the tax increment finance program, which brought funding for infrastructure improvements downtown.
Osborn also pointed specifically to Hirshfield’s efforts on that long-term project.
“Lori deserves a lot of credit for helping make that happen,” he said Thursday by phone.
For Hirshfield, the program brought together all the components of downtown revitalization through a coordinated and a comprehensive planning process dating back to the early 2000s, she said. Community meetings, workshops and presentations helped those involved envision the area of North and South main streets 20 years in the future.
Since then, Hirshfield has watched that vision come to life, she said.
Funds raised through the tax increment finance district created new sidewalks, water and sewer lines, a parking lot and trees, which really “spruced up” the appearance of downtown,” Osborn said.
Despite the major improvements downtown, there isn’t an end point for the department, as it’s always evolving, said Osborn. The more recent focus has been on beautification across town villages.
A director role was perfect for Hirshfield long term because she enjoys creating a vision with people and working collaboratively to make it a reality, she said.
In her role, Hirshfield also has taken on an endless cycle of annual work, such as budgeting of her department, said Haverstock.
Hirshfield is “quite a positive force on the town’s leadership team,” said Haverstock, who also plans to retire this summer. He credited her with working difficult hours, sometimes into the evening, to keep up with all the department tasks.
The town is currently accepting applications for the director of planning and development position on a rolling basis.
Haverstock has received a couple applications so far. The plan is to form a hiring committee in the coming weeks, he said, and to hire with some overlap so Hirshfield can bring her replacement up to date.
A job description is available on the town website. Those with additional questions about the position can contact Hirshfield at 802-295-3075.
While Hirshfield’s departure after 30 years of experience in Hartford may be a loss for the town, she feels that there are plenty of talented people in Vermont with a planning background and skill set who can be a positive addition to the staff, and that a new perspective is always welcome.
“There will never be a position that can’t have someone step into it as a replacement,” said Hirshfield. “…You can learn the particulars as you get into it.”
