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Nick Cracknell leaving Portsmouth NH for Amesbury, MA job
PORTSMOUTH — Nick Cracknell, who has served as the city’s principal planner for 12 years during arguably its busiest development boom, is leaving to take a new position with the city of Amesbury, Massachusetts.
Jon Wyckoff, chair of Portsmouth’s Historic District Commission, shared the news about Cracknell’s departure at Wednesday night’s meeting.
He, like many others, expressed sadness Cracknell is leaving, and wondered aloud about the impact it would have on the city.
“I would just like to say God he’s been great for us, he’s been very helpful, he has institutional knowledge that it’s going to be a shame to lose,” Wyckoff said, after stating Wednesday would mark Cracknell’s last HDC meeting. “I think he knows every number on every street in the Historic District. I think he knows the people who lives there and who lives next door.”
“It’s quite amazing actually, and he has done the work of two or three different people,” Wyckoff said about Cracknell, who has been the commission’s lead staffer during his time with the city.
HDC Vice Chair Reagan Ruedig told Cracknell she was “totally floored to get the news that you were no longer going to be with us. Because I honestly don’t know what we’re going to do without you. You worked tirelessly for us, for the city, you have a passion for historic buildings, which everyone here can appreciate.”
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Widespread admiration for Cracknell
City Councilor Vince Lombardi, a former chair of the HDC, said he’s known Cracknell for “a long time and I’ve known him as a friend and a colleague.”
“I’ve always respected his knowledge, his enthusiasm, his ability to create. I really, really think that it’s going to be a struggle without him,” Lombardi said. “I think it’s Amesbury’s gain, and I wish him well there.”
Former Portsmuth mayor Rick Becksted acknowledged that “Nick and I don’t always agree on things.”
“But I tell you what, if you’re going to be having someone that’s representing the city … there is not a person in the world that I think represents Portsmouth the way that Nick did, always courteous, always respectful,” Becksted said. “He represented the city in a way that it needs to be represented, respectfully.”
Becksted credited Cracknell with the way he was able to communicate with people even when they didn’t agree with him.
“It’s not going to take one person to replace Nick, it’s going to take at least two,” the former mayor said. “You are invaluable, and you’ll be sorely missed, and I am very sorry to see you go.”
Cracknell played a large role in the Planning Department working to change the zoning in the city’s North End and West End.
Mayor Deaglan McEachern told Cracknell it was “incredibly disappointing to hear that you’re leaving Portsmouth.”
“You subscribe to a theory that you set ideology aside when you’re trying to make a decision,” McEachern said during Wednesday’s meeting. “You really delve into the details of any project, and then you listen intently.”
The mayor added Cracknell listens “to understand and that’s something that is an amazing quality that not everybody is blessed with.”
Former City Councilor and HDC member Paige Trace told Cracknell he has “the courage and the grace and the knowledge that has helped to keep this city glued together in so many instances.”
“And you are a vital part of the Planning Department, and for the life of me I don’t know how this happened,” Trace said. “I wish you weren’t going. I want to thank you for all you’ve done for the historic district.”
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Cracknell points to development in North End development
For his part, Cracknell said he’s learned “a tremendous amount in my 12 years here.”
“I’ve certainly made, as most of you know, missteps and mistakes along the way, we all make them,” he said. “But I’ve really made an effort, and I think hearing some of the comments tonight are really a testimony to some of the fruit of my efforts, to be more collaborative, to be more open, to really facilitate genuine conversation.”
He reminded commissioners that when he first started working for the city, “the North End was the Garden Hilton, and 100 Market Street, and they were just starting the hotel at so-called Phase 2 Portwalk.”
Since then, “the entire North End” has either been approved, built or is under construction, he said.
He described the development in the North End as “just about finished, whether it worked out well or not, it is what it is, we tried our best.”
“But I think there are other challenges for the Historic Commission that need to be reassessed and looked at,” Cracknell said.
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What’s next for Cracknell in Amesbury?
He is scheduled to start his new job with the city of Amesbury on July 17, according to a press release from that city. He will be the new director of the Community and Economic Development office in his hometown.
Cracknell began his career in 1995 as Amesbury’s city planner and has a master’s degree in regional planning from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, according to the release.
“After an extensive search with involvement from departments across the city and community partners like the Chamber of Commerce, I am thrilled to welcome Nicholas Cracknell to our team,” Amesbury Mayor Kassandra Gove said in a prepared statement. “Nicholas has a unique combination of appreciation and care for our history along with vision and passion for growth and innovation. This position is critical for our future, and I look forward to his leadership and expertise guiding a thoughtful expansion of our tax base.”
