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Longtime zoning officer to retire at end of year.
Two key figures are now in place for Upper Gwynedd Township.
The township’s commissioners formally welcomed new Finance Director Brian Shapiro and new Zoning Officer David Conroy .
“I am very excited to have a full cadre of employees, to do all of our good work that we do,” said township Manager Sandra Brookley Zadell.
In July, the manager announced a vacancy in the township’s finance director post, due to the departure of former finance director Nathan Crittendon, who was hired in February 2022; Crittendon succeeded prior director Dave Brill, who retired after roughly 12 years in that position. Filling the post will be Shapiro, whom Zadell said on Tuesday night is very familiar with two of Upper Gwynedd’s neighbors.
"Brian has worked in the North Penn area before: he has worked in Lansdale Borough" from 2007 to 2016, then served a stint in Chalfont Borough before taking over as Montgomery Township's finance director in early 2021, "and we are very pleased to have Brian joining our team, and I am sure Montgomery (Township) is sad to lose him," Zadell said.
Shapiro brings experience using the township's financial reporting software, experience winning financial reporting awards in multiple municipalities, and will have minimal budget impact due to replacing an existing position; his start date will be Oct. 1, according to the manager, well ahead of budget workshops slated for Oct. 22 and 29.
"He has an amazing record of bringing really wonderful transparency tools to the public with budgets, with some beautiful reports, he's got over 20 years of experience, and we're very excited to have him on board," she said.
The next motion approved by the board appointed Conroy to be the township's zoning officer and planning coordinator, replacing longtime current zoning officer Van Rieker, who plans to retire at the end of 2024 and will shift to the role of assistant zoning officer starting Oct. 14.
"He's going to be replacing Van Rieker, who is sadly retiring. I know, it's horrible, I can barely say it — but at the same time, we will be filling Van's shoes with Dave, and Van is going to stay on with us a bit, as a transition," Zadell said.
Assistant Manager Megan Weaver added background about Conroy, noting his background with the map-based geographic information systems used by the code department.
"He has 25 years of experience in the planning, zoning, and GIS fields, he is currently the director of planning and zoning with New Britain Township, and formerly he was the zoning officer for 15 years at Plymouth Township. So we're very excited to have him on board," Weaver said.
Upper Gwynedd’s commissioners next meet at 7 p.m. on Aug. 12 at the township administration building, 1 Parkside Place. For more information or meeting agendas and materials visit www.UpperGwynedd.org.
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