The Lansing Star Online, Lansing, NY - Engineer/Planner Joins Town Staff

Jul 18 2008

Engineer/Planner Joins Town Staff

Dan Veaner
Friday, 18 July 2008
In January Lansing Town Supervisor Scott Pinney shocked many with a proposal that would redefine the town Zoning/Planning office. He proposed to change the job descriptions of key positions there to refocus the department on being more friendly to residents and businesses wanting to build in Lansing, and to align the positions to what he saw as needs for the town. A major change would be to redefine the Planner position as an Engineering/Planning/Coordinator job. Last Monday Jeff Overstrom started in the new position. "I suggested that we restructure that office in January when I started," Pinney says. "I learned that Jeff had already applied to the town. Around three of four months into the process we started talking and it seemed like a perfect match." Originally from Lansing, Overstrom joined the Navy after graduating from Lansing High School. In his five years in the service he worked construction with the Navy Seabees. After being discharged in 1983 he earned his AS in math/science at TC3. He pursued a career in waste water treatment, then worked for Bolton Point and Cornell before moving to Rochester with his wife Carla. While there he completed his engineering degree at RIT. The couple always planned to come home to live if they could. "We had purchased land here in town and hung onto it thinking that some day we might have an opportunity to build our dream home," Overstrom says. "We were a little crowded in Rochester and we were always coming down there to see friends and family. So we made a decision either to find something there with more room or come down here." Last January a job at TG Miller, P.C. made that possible. TG Miller's David Herrick is the town engineer. While there Overstrom worked with Herrick on several key projects here, including the Warren Road sewer project. "Working with Dave Herrick was a great experience," Overstrom says. "In the short time I was there I learned quite a bit. I worked on site plan reviews, reviewing development proposals, some good storm water work, design and storm water pollution plan permits, developing the plans. I worked for this town and others, but most of my work was for the Town of Lansing." Jeff Overstrom Overstrom had enquired about a position with the town when he was looking to move here, and when the new position opened up he jumped at it. "He's a strong leader and he has a background in engineering," Pinney says. "One of the benefits is that he was working for TG Miller. He was actually working on the town's projects there. He is already very familiar with our map plan reports, water districts, drainage districts -- he has a really good background in all of them." Overstrom says he wants to wants to make planning process more friendly for residents. He also has a strong interest in storm water management, and has already begun working on that for the town. "Storm water is something that I'm really interested in and want to be involved in," he says. "I really want to develop a good, strong program here in the town." Pinney says that having an engineer in the Planning Office will save the town money, as well as making the planning process friendlier for residents and developers. Until now engineering questions had to be referred to Derrick. Now Pinney says that the Planning Office will be one-stop where these questions can be answered immediately. "We'll still need TG Miller's office for a tremendously large amount of stuff," Pinney says. He'll work very well with Dave Herrick because they have that working relationship already. He'll be able to take over a lot of the smaller things that should be done in house to coordinate with the zoning office and the Planning Board and the Town Board." Overstrom does not have a planning background, which will mean on the job training and a learning curve to fill that need for the town. But Pinney says that does not signal a new focus on the day to day engineering rather than long term planning. "With (Code Enforcement Officer) Dick Platt on board, he really has the planning part of it," Pinney says. "Dick Platt is very good on the planning side. We were really lacking on the engineering side to review environmental studies, storm drainage work -- a lot of the simple reviews that we didn't have the expertise in the town hall to do." It took the town about three months to fill the new position because they had to create it before they could fill it. Town officials worked with Tompkins County and New york State to create a job description that was acceptable to all three, and filled the unique needs of the town. "There was a lot of back and forth between the county and the town as we developed the job description that we now have," Bookkeeper/Personnel Officer Sharon Bowman says. "They have to accept it, approve it and add it to our roster." Overstrom holds a provisional appointment until he takes and passes the Civil Service exam. But because the job description is different from existing positions he will have to wait until the state Department of Civil Service develops an exam to fit it. Once he does the job will become permanent. Part of his responsibilities is to manage the planning and zoning staff, which Pinney sees as key to reaching his goals for the department. "I think it's going to be a huge benefit to the town to have a new head of the department," he says. "That is such an important office that it will make everybody here's life easier to have somebody to go to. You won't have to go to the town engineer -- he'll be able to answer those questions for us." In his first week in the position Overstrom has jumped in with both feet. "I'm starting to dig into the storm water program, coming up to speed on what we have on that," he says. "I've talked to staff and told them what I'd like to see. I told them I'd be working with each of them as individuals to get a feel for what their work duties are and what their responsibilities are. I said we'd all work together and if they have any trouble they can come to me." Pinney says that hiring a Lansing native is a bonus for the town. "It's really nice that Jeff was originally from Lansing," he says. "He's currently building a house here in the town. I think it's very important to try to buy and hire within the town if possible." And Overstrom says he hopes to work for his home town for a long time to come. "That's the biggest bonus of the job, being home," he says. "Being involved with home. I'm really looking forward to it." ---- v4i27