The Freeport Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend Melanie Odom for appointment to the commission, commissioners said at their meeting.

At a public session, staff presented four candidates: Greg Bartosz, Patricia (Patty) Richardson, Landis Adams and Melanie Odom. Staff noted Landis Adams was already serving on another board and therefore would be ineligible due to a conflict of interest, and commissioners were asked to rank candidates for the city council recommendation. "I'm asking the board to review the applications and submit a recommendation that I can present before council for final," said mister Ritchie.

Patricia Richardson, who described herself as a long-time real estate professional, told commissioners she has led downtown-marketing efforts elsewhere and said she wants to be involved in Freeport's recovery. "If I want this market to be strong, I have to get involved in it," Richardson said, describing prior work that reduced vacancies and rebranded downtown properties.

Greg Bartosz, an area resident raising his son locally, said he wants to see Freeport improve and suggested some candidates could push an economic-development agenda on the EDC. "I just wanna see Freeport do better," Bartosz said.

Commissioners discussed procedural logistics for ranking the slate and agreed to provide Ritchie with ordered preferences so he could present a recommendation to city council. At the end of the meeting the commission recorded its selection: "The planning commission elects to recommend Melanie Odom," a commissioner stated.

The recommendation now goes to the Freeport City Council for final appointment. Staff indicated the ranked list would be shared with council for consideration.

Procedural note: one applicant, Landis Adams, was noted on the record as already serving on another board; commissioners flagged that status as a conflict of interest making him ineligible for consideration. The transcript did not specify a date for the council vote.