Meriden advisory board lacks quorum, appoints acting chair and ramps up recruitment outreach

The Human Rights and Racial Equity and Social Justice Advisory Board of Meriden convened at 6:06 p.m. on May 11 but did not reach a quorum, preventing formal votes on outstanding minutes and other business. The acting chair volunteered to serve "for the next several months" while a member is on leave and said the board will increase outreach to fill vacancies.

Without enough members present to vote, the board focused on recruitment. Casey Russo said former secretary Jeff had offered to help with recruitment and appointment strategies and recommended notifying Mayor Kevin, who handles official appointments. Russo noted a rule limiting any single party to no more than seven members and said the board must include at least one Democrat and one Republican councilor; Sonia Jelks was identified as the current council representative on the board.

Board members agreed on a mixed outreach strategy. The acting chair volunteered to run social-media posts describing the board's purpose and meeting schedule, and proposed printed flyers for schools, the senior center and community organizations. Russo suggested distributing materials at the public library and in local neighborhood pages to broaden the applicant pool. The acting chair also raised a concern that the online application form does not provide applicants with an automatic confirmation and asked that Mayor Kevin consider acknowledging submissions so the board can follow up with interested residents.

The board tentatively set its next meeting for July 13 at 6 p.m., with members saying they would reassess two weeks beforehand to ensure a quorum. Because business could not be finalized, the chair said minutes from Nov. 12, Jan. 12 and May 11 remain pending approval.

Procedural business concluded with a motion to adjourn that was seconded by Casey Russo; the meeting ended without votes on substantive items.