Southwick Select Board members Russell Fox and Douglas Moglin. Chief Administrative Officer Karl Stinehart and Board of Appeals member William Lis discuss the makeup of the BOA. (Photo by Hope E. Tremblay)
SOUTHWICK – The Board of Appeals met with the Select Board this week to hash out some concerns and confusion surrounding the BOA’s makeup.
Select Board Chairman Russell Fox said Town Counsel Benjamin Coyle was working on an issue that included the BOA and discovered there were too many members.
There should be three full members and two associate members, but the group was operating with an additional full member for the past year.
“We had to reduce the number. I asked for a motion and Doug (Moglin) made a motion to make some changes,” Fox said. “We did a realignment and I didn’t think it would be a major issue.”
Members of the BOA, however, did believe it was a major issue. The member removed by the Select Board was longtime chairman Paul Gregoire. BOA members told the Select Board they wanted to discuss the situation at its first September meeting. Fox said the agenda was already full and agreed to attend a BOA meeting.
At that meeting, Fox found the members were “not comfortable taking on [the chairperson] role. They felt they needed Mr. Gregoire back.”
BOA members include Christopher Mastroianni, William Lis Thomas Stapleton, Michael Parent and David Methe.
Last week Methe offered to step down from the board to make room to bring Gregoire back.
Select Board members told the BOA last week they want the board to prepare for other members to chair the group.
“I want to see rotating chairs,” said Selectman Joseph Deedy.
Fox added that there should be a vice chairman and, by ststute, a clerk.
Fox said the board members would receive training from Town Counsel, which they should consult with regularly.
“We want to make sure people are utilizing the Town Counsel to avoid potential problems,” Fox said.
BOA member Lis said last week that it wasn’t necessarily about not being prepared to take on a chairman role.
“We all have a good understanding of what the board does,” he said. “I think we’re probably one of the boards who work well as a group.”
Lis said Gregoire was more available to respond to needs because he is retired. That was the BOA’s main concern – being able to respond to residents during daytime hours.
BOA members expressed their concern for how the situation was handled.
“I think it’s unfortunate that this was handled the way it was,” Stapleton said. “I think this board has done an exemplary job and I thought it was unneeded to shuffle us.”
Stapleton said he wished the Select Board had consulted the BOA before making any decisions.
Fox said the Select Board received a message from residents at the spring Town Meeting that many of the boards were stagnant and people wanted change. However, he noted that residents are not coming forward and the problem is widespread.
“It’s not just Southwick,” Fox said. “People aren’t stepping forward like they used to.”
Mastroianni noted that the BOA did not have a succession in place “because there wasn’t a need” and they would work to reorganize the board.
The Select Board accepted Methe’s resignation at its Sept. 17 meeting.
Stapleton acknowledged Methe’s work.
“He, like Paul, has a lot of history,” Stapleton said. “It’s a big loss. He was very cognizant of the needs of the town.”
