Planning Director Andrew Vorce Retiring; Leslie Snell Voted In As Successor

Nantucket Planning Director Andrew Vorce announced Monday that he will be retiring from his post next month after 30 years with the town.

Vorce informed the Nantucket Planning & Economic Development Commission of his intention to step down on June 30 at the tail end of Monday night's meeting.

Deputy Director of Planning Leslie Snell was immediately appointed to succeed Vorce as Planning Director, effective July 1. The commission voted unanimously to ratify a new contract for Snell which had already been approved during a prior executive session.

"There’s been milestones for me here personally and professionally, and I just want to say I've left a great team in place for the future and let you know that I'm certainly not leaving the island," Vorce said. "I’ll be here and hopefully can assist you moving forward."

Vorce has been with the town since January 1993, when he was named Nantucket's senior planner after serving in a similar role in Arlington, Mass. He was named Planning Director by the Nantucket Planning & Economic Development Commission in May 2005, and has served in that role ever since.

Just after Vorce's announcement on Monday, Snell said she had been offered and accepted the job as the town's Planning Director.

"This is an example of succession planning that has been going on without a consultant telling us how to do it or some special somebody," NP&EDC member Nat Lowell said. "It happened organically. And that is going to be the biggest thing that is pretty obvious. I think that’s what we should be thankful for in how this has all materialized."

Below is Vorce's letter of resignation sent to the commission on May 18th: