Retiring Official 'Brought Heart' to Town Business

At the end of March, North Hampton will say goodbye to a man they've always known a easygoing, approachable professional with a kind heart and a penchant for bringing a smile to those around him.

Richard "Red" Mabey, 66, the town's building inspector, will retire at the end of March after spending a decade helping residents with requests and building proposals in a manner many said will be irreplaceable.

"He’s a great guy," said Town Administrator Steve Fournier. "I think he'll be best remembered for bringing a heart to the position. It’s a tough position because you have to tell people 'no' and enforce laws, but I think he’s really made it a customer-friendly department."

Mabey said he's greatly enjoyed his time serving North Hampton and has been honored to have had the chance to work with such "great group of people." He's also enjoyed doing anything he could to help residents, as he said his whole goal was to make sure no one was "afraid to come to the building inspector."

"I don't want them to go out of here with an unpleasant experience," said Mabey. "I don't want to say 'no,' but if I have to say 'no' I'll say 'no' and still show them that I want them to have a pleasant experience."

Mabey was a mason until age 35, when a heart attack forced him to reconsider his career path and find job that wasn't as physically taxing. That path was general contracting, and after he "got his baptism" during three tough years as the York, Maine, building inspector, Mabey spent time doing general contracting.

He later served 12 years as the Eliot, Maine, building inspector before coming to North Hampton nearly 10 years ago. Mabey could stick it out until June to officially hit the 10-year mark, although the humble town employee said he knows it's time to leave the job he wholeheartedly loves.

"I have nothing left to prove," the York resident said with a self-deprecating smile. "It isn't really necessary [for me to reach that milestone].

"It's been a great town to work for, I have to say. It's been a busy job, but that's the good thing about it — it keeps you busy. There's not much time to get bored."

Boredom is a possible threat come the end of March, although Mabey said he plans to be plenty busy in retirement thanks to several plans, including building a home for his daughter and her husband in York, hiking with his wife once he fully heals from the right knee replacement he had three months ago, and kayaking.

Mabey said he will miss working with residents on a daily basis, though, and will miss the opportunity to work on several big projects in town, like the  proposal and the continued work at , which he said was his biggest achievement in his time in North Hampton.

Coworkers said they'll miss him, too.

"He has big shoes to fill," said Wendy Chase, the town's planning and zoning administrator, who said Mabey is "well liked" by many. "I'll be very sad to see him go. He's not only my coworker — he's my good friend. I'm happy for him, though. He's worked hard his whole life. He deserves it."

Mabey will spend the next few weeks going through records and open projects in order to make life easier for his successor, whom Fournier hopes to have hired by early April.

Aside from that, Mabey said most of the substantial work has been completed, so he's now focused on helping anyone who needs his assistance and putting the town in a good position for town meeting season.

"I'm here to help people if I can," he said.