Up Close and Personal in

UP CLOSE &

PERSONAL In the Field

Welcome to Up Close and Personal – In the Field, a regular column in New Hampshire Town and City dedicated to giving readers a closer look at staff from New Hampshire municipalities and other political subdivisions. In this issue, we hope you enjoy meeting Tavis Austin, Director of Planning and Development with the Town of Wolfeboro.

TC: What are your duties and responsibilities as Director of Planning and Development?

TA: The duties of the Director of Planning and Development include those one would assume as ‘town planner,’ but as I quickly learned with Wolfeboro ‘If ya’ ain’t never seen it before, come to Wolfeboro...we’ve got at least one!” The tremendous history of Wolfeboro from land use, citizenry, and political climates over time, have created a fantastic study of ‘how did we get here, and how do we move forward?” So the duties and responsibilities are largely comprised of various committees and subgroups working to learn and adapt to our collectively-charted future.

TC: What is your biggest challenge in performing your duties?

TA: Perhaps one of the clearest challenges facing the position—and the Town as a whole—is balancing the desire for change with the reality of change occurring. Many express a desire to move forward and update the Town whilst conversely there are tremendous pressures to keep it the way it’s ‘always been.’

TC: How has NHMA helped you to do your job?

TA: NHMA has always proven to be a reliable source of information and suggested guidance for facilitating the needs and demands of those communities I’ve worked for. Where political winds ebb and flow, the consistency and dependability of NHMA’s guidance has held firm.

TC: What is the public perception about your job and how does it differ from the reality of your job?

TA: Experience has shown two distinct ‘realities’ of this role. Commonly the public decries “You plan things?? What does that mean?” the other is more generally the catch all for difficult situations facing a community—from flooding basements to Master Plan RFPs. Of course the actual answer is somewhere in the middle—it always is. There is the Master Plan, the Boards, Committees and Commissions, and then there is the public who often find it reassuring to know that ‘their Planner’ is adeptly intertwined in amongst all the moving pieces.

TC: Has your public position changed you personally?

TA: I don’t believe this has occurred to me, however, I firmly believe that one could be. Being personable and approaching each process or situation anew can help avoid the dangers of content fog. Remember to not personalize criticism or conflicting opinions.

TC: What lessons about human nature have you learned in your role?

TA: Many wish to have all of the rules possible, unless they are to pertain to them directly. NIMBY-isms take many forms and, of course, that’s often human nature. My preference is to accept the NIMBY precept as a lack of information or understanding and strive to educate and be educated before regulating.

Tavis J. Austin, AICP

Do you know someone who deserves to be profiled in a future edition of New Hampshire Town and City magazine?

If so, please contact the New Hampshire Municipal Association at 800.852.3358 ext. 3408 or tfortier@nhmunicipal.org.

TC: What advice would you give someone who would like to follow in your footsteps into this job?

TA: A lesson learned from one previous employer is the notion of “semper Gumby…roll with those punches.” While humorous, it aptly describes the need to be flexible without breaking. The law is the law, but it can be adaptive and it takes an open mind to find solutions rather than using it only as a tool to create problems.