Lawrence Township Manager Richard Krawczun always liked the way working in local government brought him a sense of closeness with the community he worked in. That feeling grew even stronger when he started working in the community he lived in.
This May, Krawczun will retire after 35 total years of local government service—23 of those with Lawrence Township. He first came to Lawrence as an employee when he was hired as the township’s Chief Financial Officer in May 1994, and he became Township Manager in July 2005.
But Krawczun’s Lawrence roots run even deeper. He grew up not far from the township on Spruce Street in Trenton, and he attended Notre Dame High School in the ’70s. Krawczun’s parents, Veronica and Walter, owned a small insurance company when he and his sister Debbie were growing up, and Veronica ran the day-to-day operations. Walter was also a tax assessor for the city of Trenton.
Krawczun attended Seton Hall University and graduated in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a concentration in public administration. He went on to earn his master’s from Rider in 1987, studying administration with a focus on public affairs.
Prior to coming to Lawrence, Krawczun, 56, was Asbury Park’s director of finance administration for five years. He also spent three years with the New Jersey Division of Local Government Services, and he started his full-time career in Trenton.
But Lawrence is where he really found his niche.
“I had the opportunity when I was working for the city of Trenton and then the state of New Jersey to see the difference,” Krawczun said. “In local government, I think you actually see first-hand the results of any impact you have with your work. At the state level, you’re removed from a lot of the interaction with residents and constituents. You don’t get that immediate sense of accomplishment or feedback.”
He added that working in urban areas often came with a lot of quick action and reaction, whereas he had time to plan in Lawrence.
It was that environment that allowed Krawczun to thrive. He also cherishes working in the town he and his wife, Karen, a nutritionist with the National School Lunch Program, raised their children, Lindsey and Brock, in. Both are Lawrence school district products.
“It is a nice feeling to have such a connection to the town where you live and having a direct influence on what happens, or trying to manage what goes on,” he said, though he added that he didn’t let his residency affect how he operated and made unbiased, informed decisions.
Krawczun remembers three projects in particular that were on the front burner when he took over as manager in 2005: the Route 1 Boulevard development, a potential hospital in Lawrence and the expansion of the Quaker Bridge Mall.
All three have since been resolved. The aesthetic improvements associated with the Route 1 project are currently under construction, while the Quaker Bridge Mall has undergone major renovations. Instead of a hospital, Krawczun said, the township has the new 550,000-sq.-ft. Bristol-Myers Squibb facility.
It has been satisfying to see major projects like these come to fruition, Krawczun said.
“Sometimes, the level of time and energy it takes to see those projects from concept to construction, because it takes such a long time and the amount of effort is often unrecognized,” he said. “There’s a friend of mine who was a carpenter, and I said to him once, ‘You know, the difference between my job and your job is that you go to work. There’s a pile of wood, and you see at the end of the day how much has been completed. Sometimes, I feel like I just move the paper from one side of my desk to the other.’”
He was particularly pleased with the BMS building.
“We were asked to work with the officials and the professionals from BMS, and the time frame to try to get that all accomplished was very tight,” he said. “We worked in such a cooperative way that not only did they and we meet the schedule, but it was nice to see when I went into that building for the ribbon cutting, you saw what transpired. That was a pretty good feeling.”
‘My work as the manager doesn’t happen just because of me. It happens because we have a good team.’
But his most meaningful memory on the job wasn’t related to a project or a ribbon cutting. He remembers working with an employee who was facing some life challenges. Krawczun and some other township employees worked together with that person, and later, Krawczun received a note that said, in part, “Thank you for saving my life.”
That, he said, is what working in local government is all about.
“When I look back, there are some big projects, but that kind of equates what I thought about working in local government,” he said. “You can touch people. That has always kind of resonated with me as doing something that was particularly important.”
Over two decades, Krawczun has overseen a lot of change in the township, especially development-wise. Still, he feels Lawrence is a close-knit, vibrant community.
“I still think there is, for a lot of people, a sense of it still being small town, and we’re not a small town,” he said. “I think that we are a diverse community, which makes it very positive. I think that diversity has grown. I think the diversity has been well-accepted. People are more engaged with one another. I think that brings together that small community feel. But there are a lot of challenges. We have a major highway. We have a regional mall. There are a lot of components that kind of counterbalance that.”
Krawczun initially wanted to retire in January but agreed to stay until may to finish the 2017 budget and close out negotiations on some labor contracts. The hiring process for the next township manager is underway. The township council hired a consultant to assist with the process, and Krawczun says he’s ready to assist however he can. He thinks there are two projects in the early stages of development that would be a good starting point for his replacement: public safety services and redevelopment opportunities, especially with the Lawrence Shopping Center.
Development-wise, Lawrence is a growing community, Krawczun said, so, naturally, fire protection and prevention, police personnel and emergency medical services may need to grow, too. He also sees potential in the Lawrence Shopping Center to generate some vitality in the area. The natural transition after the the Route 1 aesthetic improvements, he added, is to look toward and improve the shopping center.
And though Krawczun will miss working on items like these—projects that directly affect him and his community—it’s his colleagues he’ll miss the most.
“You develop such a great rapport and relationship with people that you spend most of your waking hours with,” he said. “I can’t speak highly enough of their support and friendship that has evolved over the years.”
Their diligence and support, Krawczun added, made his job a little easier.
“I think the staff is very proud of their work,” he said. “I think the department directors are experts in their particular areas of the operation. That has led to a successful municipal government. My work as the manager doesn’t happen just because of me. It happens because we have a good team.”
Lawrence Township Manager Richard Krawczun will retire in May after 35 years of local government service. (Staff photo by Samantha Sciarrotta.),
