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MCA executive committee moves to recruit commissioners and explore scheduling fix to chronic quorum shortfalls
Summary
The committee discussed recent commissioner departures, identified several potential candidates for appointment, and supported a proposal to schedule the executive committee meeting immediately adjacent to the full commission meeting to reduce delays caused by low attendance, pending ethics/notice confirmation with the town clerk.
Keisha reported a recent resignation from the commission and said Bob Santangelo is expected to be on the full commission agenda for appointment. Commissioners discussed several potential candidates—Paul Horton, Bill Foster and Stephen Allison were specifically named—and asked staff to send inquiries to potential recruits.
Members raised concern about repeated quorum shortfalls and proposed scheduling the executive committee meeting to begin shortly after the regular full commission meeting (or with a short overlap) so executive business can proceed if the full commission does not reach quorum. One commissioner characterized the plan as a pragmatic way to ensure continuity: "That way, we're always going to meet at that time to make sure that business can move forward," the participant said.
Commissioners cautioned staff to check with the town clerk on notice and ethics implications before making the scheduling change final. Keisha said commissions across departments face similar attendance challenges and recommended outreach to the registrar of voters to ensure any party‑affiliation requirements for appointments are met.
The committee asked Keisha to circulate candidate inquiries and to research any procedural or ethical limits on scheduling overlapping meetings; staff will report back to the committee and place recruitment items on the full commission agenda for action.
