Sharon Charter Commission
Monday, August 18, 2008
Location: School Department Building
Attendees:
Absent:
New Business:
Mr. Nebenzahl called the meeting to order at 7:08 PM.
Mr. Nebenzahl circulated an agenda.
Mr. Nebenzahl deferred approval of the minutes to the next meeting.
Mr. Nebenzahl read correspondence. Town resident Alice Cheyer submitted a list of 93 municipalities with their respective governmental structures for the Commission’s review.
Mr. Nebenzahl discussed the list of Town of Sharon officials to be interviewed, originally composed by Mr. Izzo. Ms. Tuck and Mr. Liao added their preferences to the spreadsheet. Discussion ensued over the pertinence of interviewing the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Mr. Nebenzahl presented Lauren Goldberg to the group. Ms. Goldberg is an attorney at Kopelman and Paige. She discussed her experienced with municipalities and charter commissions. She also discussed options facing the Sharon Charter Commission and the services she can offer.
Mr. Nebenzahl called a recess at 9:17 P.M. Mr. Nebenzahl reconvened the meeting at 9:22 P.M.
Mr. Bailey presented the list of potential towns for comparative analysis. The towns originally selected include:
Other municipalities considered include:
Mr. Garf elaborated on the selections. Mr. Bailey will distribute the list through E-mail.
Discussion of a “talking list” for future interviews ensued. Mr. Nebenzahl asked for a simpler talking point questionnaire to ensure time limits are honored.
Discussion over interviews with other communities ensued. The purpose of these interviews was identified as gauging how current models of town government are working for their municipalities. Ms. Arguimbau addressed the commission’s plan to interview one person pleased with his or her current government structure and one person to discuss the negative effects. Ms. Tuck will create a new questionnaire for communities. Discussion ensued regarding which officials to interview in each community.
Other Business
The questionnaires revised by Mr. Izzo were discussed. Mr. Bailey asked that a date and version be attached to each new document for organizational purposes. Ms. Tuck discussed grammatical and syntactical mistakes to questionnaire. Ms. Tuck will send a revised copy of the documents to Bryan Caplan.
Mr. Nebenzahl initiated discussion over the next 3 months of planning. Meetings will be held on the following dates:
Mr. Nebenzahl also discussed goal setting. He proposed by the end of November, the internal assessment should be close to finished. He also proposed the Town of Sharon interviews be completed by the end of November. The Commission discussed holding a public hearing after 6 months of meeting.
Mr. Nebenzahl discussed seeking appropriation at the next town meeting to potentially hire a consultant. Mr. Pietal proposed future discussion of the function of the consultant. Discussion regarding potential candidates ensued.
Mr. Liao proposed future agenda items to discuss commission member values, the internal assessment of the town and use of a consultant.
Ms. Tuck moved to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Bailey seconded. The motion passed 7-0.
Adjournment:
The meeting was adjourned at 10:42 PM. The next meeting will be at 7:00 PM on August 25, 2008, at the School Administration building on School Street.
Minutes submitted by:
Bryan Caplan
Revised and submitted:
Paul Izzo
Paul Izzo, Clerk