Sharon Charter Commission

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

 

Meeting Minutes (Draft)

 

Agenda:

 

·                   Oath of Office for members not already sworn in

·                   Committee Organization

·                   Scheduling

 

Attendees:

 

·                   George Bailey

·                   Marlene Chused (Town Clerk)

·                   Alan Garf

·                   Paul Izzo

·                   Sam Liao

·                   Abigail Marsters

·                   Andy Nebenzahl

·                   Paul Pietal

·                   Colleen Tuck

 

Absent:

 

·                   Margaret Arguimbau

 

New Business:

 

Ms. Chused called the meeting to order shortly after 6:30 PM.

 

Ms. Chused indicated that the Charter Commission, by state law, needed to elect a Chair, Vice Chair and Clerk.

 

Mr. Liao questioned whether the full board should be present when voting for officers.  As Ms. Arguimbau was not in attendance, Mr. Liao preferred to wait for a full board before voting.  Ms. Chused informed the board that she had validated with Marilyn Contreas (Department of Housing and Community Development) that the election needed to be held at the first meeting.  Mr. Liao agreed that the meeting needed to be held within the first 10 days but still questioned the need for election of officers.  Mr. Garf made a motion to vote on officers immediately.  Motion was approved 8-0.

 

Ms. Chused asked if there was interest in the position of the Chair.  Mr. Izzo, Mr. Pietal and Mr. Nebenzahl indicated their interest and summarized their qualifications.

 

Mr. Liao expressed support for Mr. Pietal and indicated the support of Ms. Arguimbau as well.

 

Before voting, Mr. Liao inquired as to the threshold for victory, whether it was a plurality or a majority.  Ms. Tuck suggested it should be a majority and that multiple votes might be needed with the low vote candidate dropping out after one round.  The committee agreed with Ms. Tuck's suggestion.

 

Ms. Marsters wanted to ensure all candidates would be fair and objective.  All three agreed they met that requirement.

 

The voting commenced for the position of Chair.  The results were:

 

Izzo

1 (Izzo)

Nebenzahl

4 (Garf, Bailey, Marsters, Nebenzahl)

Pietal

3 (Tuck, Liao, Pietal)

 

With Mr. Izzo receiving the lowest vote total, the second round candidates were Mr. Nebenzahl and Mr. Pietal.  The results were:

 

Nebenzahl

5 (Garf, Bailey, Marsters, Izzo, Nebenzahl)

Pietal

3 (Tuck, Liao, Pietal)

 

Mr. Nebenzahl was elected Chair with a majority of the votes.

 

Mr. Bailey nominated Mr. Pietal for Vice-Chair.  The results were 8-0 in favor of Mr. Pietal for Vice-Chair.

 

Mr. Liao nominated Mr. Izzo for the position of Clerk.  Mr. Izzo inquired to the duties of the role.  It was explained that the duties could include the posting of meetings, maintaining the documentation of the committee and the attestation of the record.  Mr. Bailey suggested that the committee would be well served by hiring a recording secretary for the purpose of keeping minutes.  Mr. Nebenzahl informed the committee that the Board of Selectmen is required to provide $5,000 for the use of the committee, which could help fund the position of secretary.

 

Mr. Izzo agreed to be considered for the position of Clerk.  The vote was 8-0 in favor of Mr. Izzo.

 

The committee next discussed scheduling.  It was agreed that Mondays would be the best evening for regular meetings.  The location will be the School Administration building on School Street.  The standard start time will be 7:00 PM.

 

Mr. Bailey informed the committee that Charter Commission in towns typically complete their business within one year and that the 16 month cycle is typically for cities.  Mr. Nebenzahl suggested the committee won't compromise quality for haste.

 

Mr. Nebenzahl will contact Mr. Puritz (Town Administrator) to have the Charter Commission placed on the agenda at the next Selectmen's meeting.

 

Mr. Garf suggested the committee consider hiring a consultant who has worked for other towns in their deliberation on Town Charters.  Ms. Tuck suggested that other towns with charters should be questioned as to their success/satisfaction with their own charters.

 

Mr. Bailey suggested that the committee invite Ms. Contreas to a meeting to provide perspective from her experience.  Mr. Nebenzahl requested Mr. Bailey extend the invitation.

 

Mr. Nebenzahl reminded the committee of the importance of the Open Meeting Law and the need to consider how we communicate, especially electronically.  Mr. Izzo suggested that documentation and information can be funneled through the Clerk to ensure all members receive the same information.

 

Adjournment:

 

The meeting was adjourned at 7:36 PM.  The next meeting will be at 7:00 PM on June 2, 2008, at the School Administration building on School Street.

 

Minutes submitted by:

Paul Pietal

 

Attest:

Paul Izzo

Paul Izzo, Clerk