Two weeks ago, not a single person had applied to fill two seats on the Planning Board that had been empty for months.
Now it’s become a crowded field, with 11 candidates vying to serve in the volunteer position.
Normally, the Planning Board has five full members and one associate (otherwise known as an alternate). But when Birgitta Kuehn resigned in July after moving to Chicago, and associate member Rosemarie Barry did not seek reappointment during the summer, the vacancies created complications.
That’s because the board makes key recommendations on whether a development proposal should proceed, and if so, what conditions should be attached to an approval (such a modified size or traffic mitigation measures).
But with just four sitting full-time members, doing business can get complicated. For example, in October developer Rick Vayo’s proposal to build affordable housing on South Street was effectively scuttled by a single vote against recommending it, cast by chair Steve Bolotin. The board’s recommendation required four affirmative votes, or a “super majority.” As contradictory as it sounds, the 3-1 vote in favor of recommending the plan meant it would have gone before Town Meeting without the planners’ support.
That scenario will be eliminated next month. The Planning Board and Select Board are scheduled to hold a joint meeting on Jan. 7 at Town Hall to fill Kuehn’s seat until the May town election, when the one-year unexpired term will be up for grabs.
Below are the names of nine of the 11 applicants:
- Joseph Higgins
- Dominic LeBel
- Delia Byrnes
- Anatol Zukerman
- Frank Mand
- Stephen McLaughlin
- Michael Butts
- Adam Bond
- Ambreen Khan
Town communications coordinator Casey Kennedy said in an email that officials were “waiting on additional information for two individuals before we can share their information.”
The successful candidate will “hold the position until the next town election in May 2025 where there will then be two open seats for a five-year term and a one-year term,” Kennedy said. Both are elected positions. The one-year term is the remaining time left in Kuehn’s term.
The Jan. 7 interview session will be open to the public. The board can, but does not have to, also appoint an associate member at that time.
Meantime, a vacancy on the seven-member School Committee will also be filled next month. The seat is open because member Michelle Badger resigned following her election as state representative in November.
After a late flurry of applications, there are now seven applicants seeking to fill Badger’s seat until the spring town election, according to Tricia Liskov, administrative assistant to superintendent Christopher Campbell: Bethany Rogers, Debby Dugan, Jonathan Rand, Margaret Matthews, Kathryn Morini, Christina Bryant, and Ronan Buchanan.
The candidates will be interviewed during a Jan. 6 joint meeting of the Select Board and School Committee, followed by a vote to select one of them. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m., at the school administration building on Lincoln Street. It is open to the public.
Mark Pothier can be reached at mark@plymouthindependent.org.