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Mineral planning commission elects Keeve chair, Newton vice chair; adopts civility pledge and updates bylaws on electronic meetings
Summary
At its January reorganization meeting the Mineral Planning Commission elected Ed Keeve chair and Theresa Newton vice chair, adopted a voluntary civility pledge, and amended bylaws to include a state electronic-meetings provision and broader wording for closed-session participation.
The Mineral Planning Commission completed its annual reorganization and governance updates, electing officers, updating bylaws and approving a voluntary civility pledge.
Theresa Newton nominated Ed Keeve for chair; nominations closed and a roll-call vote confirmed Keeve as chair for 2026. Commissioners then nominated Theresa Newton for vice chair; the vice-chair vote passed with three yes votes and two abstentions. The commission also confirmed Terry (town staff) to serve as secretary for 2026.
Commissioners reviewed the planning commission bylaws adopted 06/27/2024 and made multiple clarifying edits. They corrected membership-count language to reflect five commissioners rather than seven, adjusted roll-call wording to reference "commissioner" correctly, and replaced a named platform reference with broader wording so closed-session participation would apply to any electronic audio or video connection rather than a proprietary vendor name.
The commission also voted to add a voluntary civility pledge based on language from the Virginia Municipal League. Public commenter Michelle Covert urged caution about enforceability and noted that the town council "does not use the civility pledge," a point Chair Keeve addressed by noting the pledge's VML origin and that the commission's adoption would be voluntary.
In separate procedural action, the commission readopted the planning commission’s electronic-meeting language (as cited in the packet) to align procedures for remote participation. The meeting ended after a brief discussion of staffing and committee assignments; new commissioners Maggie Larson and Ryan Stowe volunteered to help with a capital improvements spreadsheet.
Next steps: the commission will carry several items (including Oct. 30 public-hearing minutes and capital-improvement material) to its February meeting for further review.
