Sustainability Advisory Board approves staff-ranked slate of candidates to recommend to council

The Sustainability Advisory Board voted April 29 to approve a staff-tallied ranking of applicants and forward a recommendation to the town council for five open advisory seats. Chair (speaking as the meeting chair) moved "I make a motion to approve the ranking as shown and tallied by Erica with Karen, Kathleen, Anne, and William recommended for a 3 year term and Megan recommended for a 1 year term," and a second was recorded; a roll-call vote followed and the motion passed.

Staff liaison Erica presented the scoring process and composite results before the vote. She explained the mechanics of the review: board members individually scored each applicant on four questions (1–5), submitted scorecards to staff, and Erica tallied the composite scores for the eight applicants. Erica told the board the top four composite scores were recommended for three-year seats while the next-ranked applicant would fill the one-year remainder term.

During the discussion, the chair and other members raised procedural concerns about the rubric and the limited ability to interview applicants prior to recommendation, saying the question-based ranking could miss context found in a full application or conversation. Despite those concerns, members said they had reviewed materials and submitted scorecards; Erica confirmed submitted scores would be public record and sent to the town clerk as required.

The motion named the recommended candidates (as read at the meeting) and the board conducted a roll-call vote that approved the staff-recommended ranking. The chair said the results and a redacted screenshot of the tallied recommendation would be forwarded to the clerk’s office and then to the council for formal appointment.

The board noted there will be no meeting in May; its next scheduled full meeting is June 3. The special meeting adjourned at 7:36 p.m.