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Dunedin Board of Adjustment and Appeal appoints three to open seats, elects officers
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Summary
The Dunedin Board of Adjustment and Appeal nominated and approved three applicants — Deborah Williams as a regular member, Matt Morrissey as Alternate No. 1 and Amanda Crescendo as Alternate No. 2 — and selected officers for the panel; appointments still require commission approval, the transcript shows.
The Dunedin Board of Adjustment and Appeal on an unspecified meeting date nominated and approved three applicants to fill one regular seat and two alternate seats and elected its chair and vice chair.
Deborah Williams, introduced by the presiding member as an applicant, told the board she moved to Dunedin in 2020 and called her house "our dream home and our forever home," saying she was focused on preserving the town's character and supporting code compliance. "We are very concerned about our town and our town remaining a small community and a lovely coastal community," Williams said.
Applicant Matt Morrissey, who introduced himself as "Matt Morrissey," said he moved to Dunedin in January after a 45-year career as a trial lawyer in Chicago and that he applied after seeing a notice on the city website. "I'm here in a spirit of service," Morrissey said, describing experience with dispute resolution and a willingness to listen to both petitioners and respondents.
A third applicant, Amanda Crescendo, spoke after arriving late to the meeting and said she wanted to be active in the community and had experience with neighborhood code-compliance disputes. "I'd rather be on the part of being part of the solution in our community," Crescendo said.
A board member moved to nominate Deborah Williams for the regular-member seat; the motion was seconded and the board adopted the nomination by voice vote. The presiding member then nominated Matt Morrissey to serve as Alternate No. 1; that nomination was seconded and approved by the board. Later, another motion to nominate Amanda Crescendo as Alternate No. 2 carried on a vocal "aye." The transcript records the outcomes but does not provide a roll-call tally or list individual votes by name.
City staff clarified procedural points during the meeting. The city attorney reminded members that making a motion and agreeing verbally is not the same as recording votes: "When you make a motion, you can vote against it," the attorney said, after participants noted the minutes vote earlier in the meeting had not been formally recorded. Staff also told the board that appointees must still be approved by the city commission before their appointments become final.
The presiding member asked staff to follow up with other prospective applicants who had applied but were not present, including Jonathan Darcy and Jeremy Reynolds, to confirm continued interest in the vacancy. Board members confirmed alternates are expected to attend meetings and may be asked to serve if regular members are unavailable.
With nominations and officer elections complete and no further business on the agenda, the presiding member moved to adjourn and the meeting ended.
Next steps: the three appointees' names and the officer elections will be forwarded for formal commission approval, and staff will contact other applicants about the remaining roster.
