Select Board adopts strengthened Transportation Advisory Committee charge

The Select Board approved a revised Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) charge that elevates the committee's duties beyond advisory discussion to actionable responsibilities. The updated charge specifies that TAC shall provide actionable recommendations to the town manager and Select Board, track developments and emerging trends, develop an action plan to implement elements of the new transportation strategy, and annually recommend prioritized roadway-safety improvement projects with public input.

Board members discussed how public requests should be routed among TAC, Public Works, and the town's traffic-management processes and asked staff to clarify coordination. There was also a short debate about whether the charge should reference conservation easements/trails (some members said those topics are already covered by other standing committees) and language changes to make the charge more directive (changing "will" or "may" phrasing to "shall"). One board member summarized the charge's duties as including tracking emerging transportation trends and recommending local and regional initiatives.

The board voted to approve the TAC charge as modified. Staff were instructed to finalize appointment language (town manager appointment with Select Board approval) and to coordinate implementation with Public Works and other stakeholder groups.