Colleen Mailloux Hired as Londonderry Town Planner

The Town has hired Amherst Community Development Director Colleen Mailloux for the position of Town Planner.

Town Manager Kevin Smith said he anticipates Mailloux’s transition into the new role will be smooth, noting her extensive experience in planning.

Prior to her work in Amherst, Mailloux, who lives in Goffstown, served as town planner in Bedford and also worked in the private sector for a civil engineering firm.

Mailloux earned from the University of Maine her Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Management and Policy and her Master of Arts in Resource Economics and Community Development.

Her annual starting salary with the Town will be $77,000.

Mailloux is filling the position that became vacant when Town Planner Cynthia May retired last year.

With the Town poised to complete an overhaul of its Zoning Ordinance and significant economic development projects in the pipeline, Mailloux is jumping into an exciting period for the Town’s Planning Department.

“There is a lot to get up to speed on,” Smith said. “She is familiar with the projects we have going on here, being in the Planning world. Like with anything, there is a learning curve. With Woodmont Commons, she is coming in at a pretty important time, as that project is beginning to get under way. And we have the two major developments at Pettengill. There’s not a lack of work for her when she comes in.”

“There’s definitely more going on in Londonderry than any town in New Hampshire,” Mailloux said. “It’s going to be a challenge, but I’m looking forward to it.”

Mailloux said Woodmont Commons is a unique project and she looks forward to reviewing plans as they come forward.

“The Town put a lot of effort into having a public-private partnership,” she said. “The project is ideally positioned with highway access, and the infrastructure is already there. It’s a really great opportunity for development to offset the tax base.”

Mailloux also said she will focus, as the Town has, on ensuring new development is completed in a way that minimizes impacts to residential areas.

Mailloux’s first day on the job is to be April 4.

Smith said he plans to introduce Mailloux to the Town Council and the community at the Town Council’s meeting that night at 7 p.m.

“One thing in Planning, which I will tell the Council, is it takes time to learn a community and learn what residents and the Council want, as well as how a Town operates. I will be working to understand what direction the Town is trying to go in, while being sensitive to working with the community,” Mailloux said.