PETERSBURG – The halls of the Upper Township Municipal Complex will no longer ring with the sound of people uttering the familiar suggestion to “call Paul” whenever something needs to be done.
Upper Township Committee said its official goodbye to township engineer Paul Dietrich, who attended his final committee meeting as an employee.
Dietrich, who put in more than 23 years with Upper Township, is leaving to take a position as the director of land use with the City of Cape May.
Mayor Jay Newman said Dietrich took the job of municipal engineer to a new level. Newman, reading a proclamation honoring Dietrich, described Dietrich as having a “seemingly infinite amount of energy.”
Deputy Mayor Kim Hayes added that someone said the first thing that had to happen upon hearing Dietrich was leaving was to find out “what he does.”
What Dietrich did could not be summed up in the job description for “engineer.” Dietrich served as the municipal engineer, but also as the engineer for the Planning and Zoning boards, as well as computer operations director, stormwater management coordinator, assistant zoning officer and housing official, municipal housing liaison, air quality control officer, superintendent of Public Works, floodplain manager, Community Rating System coordinator, and construction/zoning supervisor.
Dietrich was also a member of the Solid Waste Advisory Committee, Green Team Advisory Committee, Local Emergency Planning Committee, Floodplain Management Public Information Group, Municipal Court Security Committee, and Upper Township Safety and Wellness Committee.
Going around the dais, committee members gave their farewells, citing Dietrich’s willingness to help wherever possible.
“Everyone I talked to said, ‘I don’t know what we’ll do without Paul,’” Committeeman Victor Nappen said.
Committeeman Mark Pancoast said whenever there was a problem or a question, the first thing people said was “call Paul.”
“After I was elected, Paul was the first person to say, ‘What do you need to know?’ and ‘How can I help?’” Hayes said.
Committeeman Curtis Corson, the longest-serving member of the committee, said he had worked with Dietrich the longest.
“He was involved with every department,” Corson said.
Even at his last meeting, Dietrich filled in for whoever was supposed to run the meeting’s video system.
Dietrich thanked the committee and those he worked with in the township.
“This has always been more than a job – living here, growing up here, it’s family and friends,” Dietrich said.
He said everything he did was to help improve the lives of people he went to school with and who became his neighbors.
“It was a great privilege to work here,” he said.
Nappen told Dietrich he would undoubtedly get a few calls from Upper Township after he leaves.
Contact the author, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
