Board recommends Edward Prince to fill regular member vacancy, forwards recommendation to council

The board recommended Edward Prince, a local veteran, to fill one regular-member vacancy and said it will forward that recommendation to the City Council for final approval. The recommendation was approved by voice vote during the meeting and will be considered by the council before Prince would take a seat.

The action matters because the board currently has three vacancies — one regular member slot and two alternate-member slots — and Prince is the only applicant who had submitted a DD Form 214 verifying military service at the time of the meeting. Board members said the other two applicants either were not present or had not yet provided the DD-214 required under the membership rule the board adopted in a recent establishing resolution that the council approved.

Board members discussed logistics and the membership rules during the interview and appointment discussion. Edward Prince introduced himself and said he lives on 140 Dartmouth Avenue in Oldsmar and is affiliated with VFW Post 12186. He confirmed he can attend meetings scheduled at 4 p.m. The board took a motion to recommend Prince; members voiced their support and the chair said the recommendation will go to the council for final action.

The board did not take final council-level action; the council must approve the board’s recommendation before Prince is seated. The board recorded the recommendation as a voice vote in open session and noted that the other two vacancies remain open pending the applicants’ submission of paperwork and presence for interview.

The board scheduled its next meeting for Sept. 22 at 4 p.m.