Above: ZBA Chair Leo Bartolini will be stepping down as Chair, but remaining as a member. And Recreation Commission Chair Craig Nicholson had hoped to do the same. Instead, he will resign to join the ZBA. (image left from 2014 SAM video and right contributed)
This afternoon’s Zoning Board of Appeals meeting will cover an item of interest to some residents. The ZBA will take first steps to reorganize. (The item is presumably covered by “other business properly before the board”.)
Last night, Chair Leo Bartolini met with the Board of Selectmen in a closed Executive Session. The discussion was response to a citizen’s petition to remove Bartolini from the board. BOS Chair John Rooney later announced that Bartolini will remain on the ZBA. But the ZBA will vote to change the Chair and Vice Chair positions.
According to Rooney, an initial vote will take place at this afternoon’s meeting. (That’s 2:00 pm today in the Town House Hearing Room.) The board will vote to reassign leadership roles for the Park Central project. (No mention was made of changing which members will be involved in the project. Which likely means that Bartolini will continue to be one of the three members making decisions on the applications.)
In a following meeting, the board will vote on reassigning the Chair and Vice Chair positions. (That is scheduled for August 17th.)
According to Rooney, the suggestion was made by Bartolini. Rooney agreed with Bartolini that residents’ concerns should focus on the entire body of the board rather than an individual. He publicly thanked Bartolini for his service and his choice to put the Town first.
Prior to the news, selectmen interviewed three candidates for a vacancy on the ZBA. In the end, they voted to appoint Craig Nicholson to the full time slot.
Nicholson ran for the Planning Board this past election. His answers last night echoed positions from his springtime run. He expressed hope that he can help bridge divide between the Planning and Zoning boards.
One idea he again promoted was forming an advance/triage team for projects, with one member of each board involved in a decision. The reps would discuss what was coming and which board was responsible for which piece. He believed that it would avoid future turf wars. It’s something Nicholson said he had seen done well when he presented applications to other towns as a real estate developer.
Nicholson assured selectmen that his job won’t be a conflict. He currently works for a non-profit based in Cambridge. If there was any overlap with consultants, he could disclose and recuse himself. In those instances, an alternate would step up.
Before securing votes from selectmen, he agreed to resign from what some selectmen viewed as a conflict. Bonnie Phaneuf said that the three committees he serves make recommendations to the ZBA.
The candidate agreed about SHOPC (Southborough Housing Opportunity Partnership Committee) and the Housing Trust. But he initially pushed back on stepping down from the Recreation Commission. He said he was willing to step down as Chair. But he was concerned about leaving a vacancy, which had previously taken a long time to fill.
Nicholson had believed he could just recuse himself on applications made by the Recreation Department. Chair John Rooney explained that it was more than just Recreation applications at stake. There could be perceived conflict of other projects’ impact on Recreation.
Selectman Dan Kolenda supported Nicholson’s position, saying the board couldn’t require the resignation. But members Phaneuf and Paul Cimino said that it was needed to secure their votes. And Rooney supported their position, strongly urging Nicholson to resign from the commission. After a moment to consider, he agreed.
It wasn’t the only tense moment last night. In the midst of the motions for a vote, an audience member sprung up to object.
A terse back and forth with Rooney revealed that she wanted the board to consider another “new candidate”. Rooney rebutted that papers hadn’t been submitted in time. She claimed that they didn’t know a vote would be made last night. Rooney responded, “That is unfortunate”, then immediately returned to the motion.
As for their selection, Rooney justified one choice by saying that current alternate David Williams plays an important role on the board. Promoting him would require finding someone to fill his position.
The Chair also thanked candidate Carl Demelio for stepping up. It was the first time Damelio has volunteered for a Town committee.
Prior to the interviews, Rooney announced that candidate Jeffrey Walker had withdrawn from the running. Walker is the senior alternate on the ZBA. Earlier this summer, the ZBA unanimously backed him for the full time seat.
