By Curt Peterson
Maggie O’Brien, the newest member of the Rutland Regional Planning Commission, will be helping update the 2015 Killington Town Plan, according to RRPC Special Projects Manager Ed Bove.
O’Brien grew up in Farmington, New York, a small town of 14,000 between Lake Canandagua and Lake Ontario. She earned her degree in environmental science and Forestry at the State University of New York in Syracuse.
“Sometime down the road” she plans to pursue a graduate degree.
Last summer Maggie visited her grandparents in Springfield and noticed the job opening at RRPC.
“I applied, the interview went well, and I started work as a regional planner on Oct. 3,” she told the Mountain Times.
Bove said she is RRPC’s “utility planner,” providing whatever is needed, wherever it’s needed, whenever it’s needed, while also focusing on local emergency management.
She’ll meet with the Killington planning commission monthly.
“The plan does a good job of hitting all the state-required main points,” she said, “but it can flow better. Cited data is a little outdated, but we’ll improve it in joint effort with the planners.”
O’Brien’s looking for an affordable apartment in the area and finds the housing shortage challenging.
“If I can’t find anything suitable I can stay with my grandparents in Springfield and commute,” she said.
Killington planning consultant Lisa Davis will take O’Brien for a town tour on Dec. 21. Her impression of her first two months at RRPC?
“In the short time here, I’ve already fallen in love with Vermont’s small towns. There’s nothing like regional planning commissions in New York,” she said. “They are a great asset for Vermont towns.”
