Select Board reviews rewrite of Transportation Bikeways Advisory Committee charge, aims for August vote

The Orleans Select Board spent the work-session portion of its meeting reviewing proposed revisions to the Transportation Bikeways Advisory Committee charge, including a move by staff to shift implementation responsibilities from volunteers to town staff. Matt Runyon, who opened the session, said the board and staff would circulate an updated redline to the advisory committee for comment before a regular-meeting vote targeted for Aug. 26.

Staff described the draft as a starting point based on two prior meetings with the select board liaison, staff liaison and the committee chair. "This will mirror the same process that we followed for the Human Services Advisory Committee and the Veterans Committee," a staff presenter said, explaining the redline and cover materials. Several board members voiced concern that the edits remove many specific implementation duties from the committee and reduce staff seats on the panel; one board member said the changes make the body more advisory than operational, noting it "seem[ed] to me that we're saying this is really a staff responsibility with the committee advising on the right strategies or the directions." The redline, as drafted, counts two designated staff as part of the committee total; staff said the text can be rewritten if the board wants five citizen members without counting staff.