Brookfield Town Planning Board unanimously appoints Jim Lowry to fill vacancy

The Brookfield Town Planning Board appointed Jim Lowry as a full member to serve until the next regularly scheduled election in March, the board voted unanimously during its meeting. Chair Marsha Goldberg announced the vacancy following the resignation of a previous member and said the board's removal-and-appointment procedure requires announcing a vacancy at one meeting and filling it at the next.

"If a vacancy exists, remaining members of the board shall appoint a new member to serve until the next election," Goldberg said while outlining the process. Board members then made a motion to appoint Lowry and called the vote. "All those in favor? Aye," Goldberg asked; the motion carried unanimously and members welcomed Lowry.

Lowry introduced himself to the board, saying he moved to Brookfield in 2016 or 2017, has an associate degree in surveying and civil engineering, and has worked in local land-related professions for many years, including as a realtor working with acreage and farms. He indicated prior experience seeking an alternate position on a planning board and described several years of relevant work experience.

The board also approved minutes from its June 9 meeting without objection. Chair Goldberg noted that members who had not attended a prior meeting should not vote to approve those minutes, but all present indicated they had been in attendance and the motion carried.

No further formal actions were taken on the appointment; the board reminded Lowry about attendance expectations and said staff would provide him with an onboarding handbook and materials before the next meeting.

Provenance: The appointment discussion and vote are recorded in the meeting transcript where the chair introduced the vacancy, members discussed term timing and ballot placement, Lowry spoke about his background, and the board called and recorded the vote.