WESTFIELD – The City Council’s Personnel Action Committee will have a busy agenda tonight between interviews with Planning Board candidates and a request submitted by Mayor Daniel M. Knapik to reappoint 21 members of various city boards and commissions.
At-large Councilor Brent B. Bean II, PAC chairman, said earlier this week that City Council confirmation of the Planning Board members is a priority of his committee.
The PAC is slated to interview four of the five candidates tonight at a 6:30 meeting prior to the council session at 7 p.m.
The Planning Board currently has four members, which represent a quorum, but is one member short of the super majority needed to approve special permits. Board members are nominated by the mayor and confirmed by the City Council.
Mayor Daniel M. Knapik submitted one candidate at the City Council’s Dec. 15 session and four at the council’s Jan. 5 session. All five of those nominations are now awaiting action by the council’s Personnel Action Committee (PAC).
Those candidates are: Peter S. Fiordalice of 57 Wildflower Circle whose nomination was submitted at the council’s Dec. 15 meeting to represent Ward 5; Jane Magarian of 131 Llewellyn Drive to represent Ward 4; Ramon Rivera of 16 Mechanic Street, who has serves as a Park & Recreation Commissioner, to serve ward 2; and Raymond St. Hilaire of 120 Old Stage Road to serve as an alternate member of the board.
The fifth candidate, Christopher Wilkie of 50 Rachael Terrace, has served for the past several years as an alternate member of the Planning Board and has been nominated to serve as a full member representing Ward 6.
The Planning Board is comprised of seven full members, six ward representatives and an at-large member, and two alternate members who are authorized to vote if a full member is not present throughout all of the public hearings held under special permit application review process.
Bean said Monday that the candidates, with the exception of Wilkie, will be interviewed tonight at the PAC meeting because of the urgency to rebuild that board.
“That’s all we’re going to do, interview the (Planning Board) candidates,” Bean said.
“The goal is to present the candidates to the full council for confirmation Thursday night,” he said.
Bean said Wednesday that he plans to ask for immediate consideration of the 21 board and commissions members and not refer those reappointments to his committee.
“I am going to ask for immediate consideration unless a PAC member or Council member objects to any of the candidates,” Bean said. “I’d like to do that for all reappointments unless someone objects.”
