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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1990-07-27 ry ... 7:0:: ,~ U--:;;I;'~....-:-r~J ,--.-- - - ----~~ ~ rrr~ CLA-L l(~ Ir ~~Y-o k~ .~ ~;c~ . waUtJ-. o-v ... ~ 2&14 . a . ~~ i\ . ... Meeting of the Board of Appeals, July 27,1990 at 1:00 p.m.in the Selectmen's Hearing Room, Town and County Building, Nantucket, MA 02554. All members of the Board were present. Linda Williams, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 1:04 p.m. Peter Dooley asked that Spencer Cowan, Zoning Board Administrator, explain the Chairman/ Secretary situation. Mr. Cowan said that at the Board's request he had contacted Walter Lindberg and Paul DeRensis and summarized their opinions in a letter to the Board which he distributed. Mr. Lindberg stated that the situation of the Chairman also being the Secretary "presented a clear lack of separation and control over the expenditure of public funds and accountability which created a strong impression of an appearance of impropriety." Mr. Lindberg is not an attorney so he did not give an opinion as to the legality of the situation. Town Counsel, Paul DeRensis, listed three legal steps to avoid any problems: 1. The Board of Selectmen designate the Board of Appeals as Special Municipal Employees. This has already been done. 2. Ms. williams request an exemption under section 20 (a) of the State Ethics Code, MGL Chapter 268A to permit her to pay to hold a paying position for the Board of which she is a member. This was done at the time Ms. Williams was appointed to the Board. 3. Ms. Williams should report to the Board of Selectmen under section 19 of the State Ethics Code and request that another member of the Board of Appeals be delegated the oversight authority and responsibility for her in her position as Secretary to the Board of Appeals. Mr. Cowan advised that hoolding the position of the Secretary as well as Chairman is not prohibited by Massachusetts General Laws and in favct occurs in about twenty percent of the communities in Massachusetts. Michael O'Mara asked if the Selectmen felt that it was inappropriate for Linda to be writing her own checks. Ann Balas said kthat she felt that the full membership of the Board should sit for this meeting, the alternates as well as the regular members of the Board. The alternates would not be voting unless there was not a five member Board. Mark Beale was not present. Lee Bourgoin, Executive Secretary, was present to give his opinion on the Secretary/ Chairman question if the Board asked for it. Peter Dooley nominated Robert Leichter as the member of the Board to oversee Linda Williams in her position as Secretary. Motion was seconded. Dale Waine, Peter Dooley, and Robert Leichter voted in favor. Bill Sherman voted in opposition. Mr. Sherman had expressed that it would be very difficult for Ms. Williams to do all things wellas both Chairman and Secretary. He did not see how Mr. Leichter would know if Ms. Williams was doing her job properly. Mr. Sherman said that one of the biggest problems with the Board is proper filing. Dale Waine commented that being Chairman and Secretary would be la heavy work load, and that if Ms. Williams had Meeting of the Board of Appeals, July 27,1990 at 1:00 p.m. difficulty balancing the two, she should give one up at that point. Ann Balas said that the information that the Zoning Board Administrator had should have been given to the Selectmen. Mr. Sherman said that the correct way would have been for Mr. Cowan to give the letter he had drafted to Ms. Williams and that she as Chairman should have given the letter to the Board of Selectmen by July 16,1990. Ms. Balas said that she would like to see kwritten job descriptions for zoning Administrator, Secretary, Clerk, Chairman and Vice-Chairman. She insisted that the Board post the Secretarial, Zoning Administrator, Clerk, and Chairman job descriptions. Ms. Balas said that zoning business hours should be posted with at least 2 hours as office hours for the public. Bill Sherman moved that each job have a job description by August 17,1990. Dale Waine seconded. All were in favor. Dale Waine commented that a request should be made to the Selectmen to handle the Secretary/Chairman situation in the manner in ;which Town Counsel, Paul DeRensis, outlined. jkHe asked that the lines of communication between the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Board of Selectmen be kept open so that any negative reaction from the jBoard of Selectmen would not come as a surprise. Discussion followed concerning Mark Beale sitting on the Planning Board as well as the Zoning Board of Appeals. Mr. Shermansaid that Mr. Beale did not sit on a Planning Board decision in which there was an appeal before the Board of Appeals. Ms. Balas said that a staff member of the ZBOA should sit in on the recomendation meetings. She felt that it was an asset to have Mr. Beale on both boards. Mr. Leichter said that the ZBOA should make everything equitable. Ms. Williams asked why, if being on boath boards was not a conflict of interest for Mr. Beale, was her situation as Chairman/Secretary considered a conflict of interest? Mr. Leichter suggested that all office procedures should be formatted. Mr. Sherman said that he wanted the record to be precise. He said that an outline containing the necessary information for each decision was needed so that the Board would be very clear on what relief was granted. Mr. Sherman suggested the following information be included in every decision: 1. Name of applicant. 2. Address of the property requesting a Special Permit. 3. Locus of property, Assessor's Parcel, and Registry of Deeds information. 4. Relief sought. 5. Basis for finding. 6. Facts from the Building Commissioner and Planning Board. 7. Findings. 8. Relief granted. 9. Vote taken. There being no further business before the Board, Chairman Williams 2 Meeting of the Board of Appeals, July 27,1990 at 1:00 p.m. adjourned the meeting at 2:30 p.m. LINDA WILLIAMS, CHAIRMAN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS 3