The Select Board voted unanimously Aug. 6 to reappoint incumbents whose terms expired June 30 and to fill two planning‑board vacancies while it finalizes a new appointments policy. The board also heard from Andrew Goral, chair of the Planning Board, who asked for clarity about his status.

The action matters because town boards and committees have been operating since July 1 on the assumption that incumbents would be reappointed; the board said it wants a formal policy but chose to apply prior practice for the current vacancies. The board agreed to honor a request from Goral to be confirmed to fill a midterm vacancy and to promote Jeannie (Jeanne) Burnett from alternate to full member of the Planning Board.

In discussion before the votes, Goral told the board, "My term has expired. I have not been reappointed because of the considerations without a new appointment process," and said he preferred that any new policy be adopted before changing an established practice. A Select Board member responded that, while a new policy is desirable, it was not necessary to discard the town's past practice now.

Board members and a three‑person subcommittee (Tom, Henry and the town manager) presented a draft appointments policy in the meeting packet. The draft divides town boards and committees into categories — governing boards (for example, Planning Board and Board of Appeals), technical/standing advisory committees, advisory/ceremonial committees (Farmer's Market, Memorial Day committee) and ad hoc committees — and recommends different application, review and appointment procedures for each category. For governing boards the draft recommends an appointment review committee composed on a case‑by‑case basis of a Select Board member, the board chair (or designee), and the town manager; for other committees the draft routes applications to the full Select Board.

Board members debated whether alternates should be automatically promoted; the board decided to follow past practice for the immediate vacancies. The Select Board discussed publishing a directory of boards and committees, clarifying residency requirements for particular seats, and refining evaluation criteria such as education/experience, prior service, stakeholder representation and continuity/succession when filling seats.

The board made the interim appointments and approved the motion to reappoint incumbents 5‑0. The Select Board directed the subcommittee to continue work on the appointments policy and to return with a revised draft at a subsequent meeting. The subcommittee said remaining issues include naming the technical/advisory category and filling a gap in the draft that explains how vacancies on technical advisory committees will be handled.

The board also discussed individual pending appointments during the meeting packet review: an application for Lorraine Davis to serve as an associate (nonvoting) member of the Conservation Commission was raised; members asked staff to check statutory language and to bring that matter forward at the next meeting.

The board said the new appointments policy would be posted publicly before it takes effect and would apply to future vacancies once adopted.