Committee recommends three Heritage Commission appointees to council

The Economic Matters Committee issued favorable recommendations for appointments to the city's Heritage Commission and will forward the nominations to the City Council for final confirmation.

At the meeting, the committee heard from Todd Trapnell, who explained he was recruited by a neighbor and emphasized his interest in preserving local history. "If you don't know the history of a place, you don't really know the place," Trapnell said, explaining his long interest in history and community service, including nine years as president of a civic association while earning a master's degree in public policy.

Heather Erst introduced herself as a trained historian and described work at local institutions. Erst said she has worked at the Annapolis Maritime Museum and Historic Annapolis and now works for Visit Annapolis and Anne Arundel County; she told the committee she hopes to bring both historical and visitor-interpretation perspectives to the Heritage Commission.

Committee members praised both candidates' backgrounds. After questions, committee members moved favorable recommendations; both recommendations passed by voice vote and the committee chair said the nominations would appear before the full council at the council's second meeting of the month. The chair told appointees their presence at the council confirmation hearing was optional.

The committee also appointed Tom Weaver to the Maritime Advisory Board; Weaver described three decades as an Eastport resident and his work on waterfront projects, including efforts to restore more working-boat activity in the downtown waterfront. Weaver told the committee a federal grant provision created a long-term restriction on new commercial operators at the downtown waterfront, but the restriction could be revisited only if grant funds were repaid. "That was from the original, an original brand, $6,000,000 buffer," Weaver said when describing the prior federal investment and its lingering grant restrictions. Weaver said he would bring a perspective that balances public access and waterfront history.

All three appointments received favorable recommendations to the council and were cleared to advance for confirmation.