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Date: 12/12/2022
SOUTHAMPTON – After receiving an application from Town Treasurer Jen Day to serve on the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), the Southampton Select Board discussed the need to fill positions on that board so it can continue its business at the Select Board’s Dec. 6 meeting.
Town Administrator Ed Gibson said the ZBA consists of five members with one alternate and currently one of the regular seats and the alternate seat both remain vacant. Gibson added that he checked with town counsel to make sure having an elected official appointed to the board would work, which they approved.
Without a full board Gibson said the ZBA has had issues functioning.
“Right now, the ZBA really can’t operate because they’re low, if you’re not going to move forward on this would one of you like to volunteer for a short period of time to fill that vacancy so the can continue to do what they need to do,” he said.
While other boards require a quorum to vote and make decisions, Gibson said the ZBA has different voting rules.
“Their legal decisions aren’t based on a quorum; they are based on certain things in the Legislature and when you’re down to – I think it’s four – and you may have someone that’s abstaining and when it’s down to four you have to have unanimous decisions. It’s not just because you have four you have a quorum and can move forward,” he said.
Board member and liaison to the ZBA Francine Tishman added that the ZBA had to continue its last meeting because of an abstention on one of the meeting’s items due to a conflict of interest.
In response to Gibson’s suggestion about having a board member serving on the ZBA, Tishman added that she was concerned about serving on the board because of a lack of technical knowledge, even as the liaison. She suggested appointing a member of the Planning Board to the ZBA, which Gibson called “a direct conflict of interest.”
Board Vice Chair Jon Lumbra said he was concerned about having a municipal employee conduct site visits as a part of the ZBA’s work, after Tishman said they sometimes take place during normal work hours, as opposed to the hearings at night.
“That might put us in violation of the special municipal employee designation,” he said.
Board member Maureen Groden said she was concerned that the board was discussing the issues with the ZBA when the Board of Assessors has just as many issues.
“We have a Board of Assessors that’s going with two members and one of them is on a personal leave, the one that has the most amount of information in terms of the assessor’s office, so I’m not really sure why we are spending a half an hour talking about this,” she said.
Ultimately, no motion was made to appoint Day to the ZBA, and no member of the Select Board volunteered to serve in the interim, but the board agreed to bring the issue up at its Dec. 20 meeting.
As part of the town’s Personnel Polices and Procedures Board’s annual report, they recommended that the Select Board investigate hiring a part-time human resources director. Because it was not on the agenda, the board agreed to discuss it at a future meeting.
The board also hosted a public hearing with Eversource for the placement of 11 mid-span telephone poles, none of which will interfere with private property. The board unanimously approved Eversource’s project to add the poles.
During the meeting the board also met with Town Accountant Bradley Okscin, who said he is struggling to fill the assistant town accountant position. He said three candidates canceled interviews from the job and a fourth candidate accepted another job. The position is a benefitted, 20 hour per week job. The board agreed to publicize the position through the town’s various newsletters and email blasts.
The Southampton Select Board next meets on Dec. 20.