Contract Review Committee seeks volunteer recruits as members decline; time commitment cited as barrier

Members of the Nantucket Contract Review Committee on May 30 reported difficulties recruiting volunteers for open seats and discussed ways to reduce the burden on committee members.

Chair Veronica Bolger said the committee did not receive an applicant for an at-large seat and that several other town committees have open positions. “We did not have an applicant for the at large open on contract review,” Bolger said. She said she had spoken with two potential candidates who did not apply and that the committee would continue outreach.

Member Linda Williams said one candidate gave feedback that the role’s time commitment was too large. “The person that I talked to who ended up not applying gave me the feedback that it was just too much of a time commitment,” Williams said.

Members discussed that staff support had reduced some volunteer burden compared with earlier eras but that the committee’s workload has increased recently because of additional grant work, extra meetings and ad-hoc review tasks. Staff and members said they are exploring work-groups and other process changes to reduce meeting time and to make service more feasible for volunteers with competing commitments.

The committee asked members to pursue outreach to local organizations and recent retirees with business backgrounds to identify potential candidates; Bolger said she would follow up with the chair of NPEDC about appointments.

No appointment was made at the May 30 meeting. Committee members emphasized the need for at least one additional member to maintain quorum during busy grant cycles.