New Castle County subcommittee nominates two advisory-board candidates; debate arises over rule suspension

The New Castle County Boards & Commissions Subcommittee on May 27 nominated Allen McKenzie to the Fire and Ambulance Advisory Board and introduced Anne Chabatini for the New Castle County Library Advisory Board, and discussed seeking a same-day vote on two of the three agenda items because the subcommittee meeting was postponed. The panel approved minutes from its May 15 meeting and adjourned after about ten minutes of business.

The nominations matter because they fill advisory-board seats that advise county officials on fire/EMS operations and library services, and because differences in agenda posting prompted council members to raise state open-meetings compliance concerns. Council members debated whether the subcommittee could suspend rules to allow immediate council votes on two nominations while delaying one nomination that did not meet the seven-day posting requirement.

Dee Durham, chair of the Boards & Commissions Subcommittee, called the meeting to order and ran a roll call of council members present. Durham noted the agenda contained three items: two new appointments and one reappointment. The subcommittee voted to approve the May 15 minutes by voice vote; the motion, a second and a voice “Aye” were recorded but individual yea/nay votes were not named on the record.

Councilman Kevin Koneko presented the nomination of Allen McKenzie to the Fire and Ambulance Advisory Board. Councilman Koneko said McKenzie would replace a longtime member, and that he personally knows the nominee. Allen McKenzie, identified in the meeting as a fire chief at the Delaware City Fire Company, told the subcommittee, “I have been with Delaware City Fire Company for 23 years. I've been doing fire and EMS for the majority of that time.” McKenzie said he had spoken with current Fire and Ambulance Advisory Board members about working with the county and expressed interest in serving.

Durham told McKenzie that, because the council calendar was compressed after a postponed meeting, “this will be actually voted on tonight if we all agree to suspend the rules.” The subcommittee did not vote to suspend the rules during the boards-and-commissions meeting; Durham said the suspension and the final council vote were expected at the later council meeting that same evening.

The subcommittee next introduced Anne Chabatini for the Library Advisory Board. A presenting council member described Chabatini as interested in the future of the Glasgow library and noted Chabatini had reached out to local library contacts to learn how “Friends of the Glasgow Library” work. Chabatini spoke to the panel by video and said she has been active in a library in New Jersey and that she and her family moved to Glasgow about two years ago. “I feel like libraries are super important to the community,” she said, adding she is “delighted to kind of get the lay of the land” and contribute her experience.

Unlike the other two nominations, Durham said Chabatini’s nomination would not be voted on at the next council meeting because it did not meet the council agenda’s seven-day posting deadline. Councilman Street raised the posting concern directly: “It would be a violation of state FOIA law, for one, not for the other two, if you didn't post it in 7 days,” he said. A staff member confirmed the library nomination had missed the council agenda deadline and therefore would appear for a vote at the subsequent council meeting in two weeks.

Durham also presented the reappointment of Francis Williams to the Fire and Ambulance Advisory Board for Councilman Toole’s district. Durham said Williams is active with one of the district’s fire companies (Five Points) and that the subcommittee would seek to suspend the rules so the reappointment could be voted on that evening at full council.

There were no public comments at the subcommittee meeting. The panel asked no substantial policy questions of the nominees beyond their backgrounds and interest in service. After seeking clarification about the posting deadline and rule-suspension plans, a member moved to adjourn; the subcommittee recorded a voice vote of “Aye” and adjourned.

Votes at a glance

- Approve minutes (May 15): motion made and seconded; voice vote recorded as “Aye”; outcome: approved (individual votes not named in transcript). - Motion to adjourn: motion made and seconded; voice vote recorded as “Aye”; outcome: approved.

Next steps and timing

- Allen McKenzie: nomination to the Fire and Ambulance Advisory Board was presented and is expected to be forwarded to the County Council for a vote; Durham said the council could vote the same evening if the rules are suspended. - Anne Chabatini: nomination to the Library Advisory Board was presented; because it did not meet the seven-day posting deadline for the council agenda, the nomination will be considered at the next council meeting in two weeks. - Francis Williams: reappointment to the Fire and Ambulance Advisory Board was presented and the subcommittee indicated it would seek suspension of rules so the full council could vote the same evening.

Substantive context

The items on the subcommittee agenda were procedural appointments and reappointments; none established new policy or budgetary commitments. The only substantive procedural dispute recorded in the meeting concerned whether the posting deadline for council agenda items was met for the library nomination, and whether that difference justified delaying its council vote to comply with state open-meetings requirements.

Meeting length and participation

The subcommittee discussed three agenda items in roughly 10 minutes with multiple council members present in chamber and two members participating online. There were no members of the public who spoke during the public-comment portion.