[MassHistPres] local HC minutes

[hmssurpr1 at aol.com]

The Westport Historical Commission is an all volunteer, unpaid commission, appointed by the Board of Selectmen.  The officers are Pres, VP, Clerk and Secretary. We receive no administrative assistance from Town staff.  Both the Clerk and Secretary are also members of the Commission. 



Our meetings are video-taped by a volunteer, and broadcast several times on the Town's cable-sponsored channel.  Final Minutes are available electronically on the Town's website.



I am the Secretary.  I take minutes during the meeting, prepare a draft, and send it by email to members for their review and comments.  I prepare a revised version, incorporating comments (highlighted) and send to members just before the next meeting.  After approval, I also send a copy of the final minutes to the office of the Board of Selectmen.  




About 4 years ago, the Commission decided to develop a more systematic and transparent way of operating. We prepared rules & regulations and updated the guidelines, all now available on the Town's website.   We also decided to develop case law, using the minutes to clarify/explain the principles behind each decision on applications.  This helps:  educate all on the Commission, ensure more consistent and transparent approaches, educate public about what to expect when making applications.    




It is difficult taking notes while being an active participant in the meeting as well.  But given the expectations for these minutes, it is hard to imagine
 a non-commission member being in a position to help frame the references and synthesize the arguments/conclusions.   I learned during a long professional career in bureaucracy that when dealing with policy, s/he who controls the drafting of the minutes controls the interpretation.



















 


-----Original Message-----
From: Marcia  Starkey <mdstarkey at crocker.com>
To: MassHistPres <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
Sent: Thu, 2 Oct 2008 9:53 am
Subject: [MassHistPres] local HC minutes








Hello,

Are there local historical commissions who do other than take longhand notes of 
meeting minutes? What are, or are there.. new technologies for doing it another 
way? This is always a job that needs help!

Marcia Starkey, Greenfield HC



 
******************************
For administrative questions regarding this list, please contact 
Christopher.Skelly at state.ma.us directly.  PLEASE DO NOT "REPLY" TO THE WHOLE 
LIST.  
MassHistPres mailing list
MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu
http://mailman.cs.umb.edu/mailman/listinfo/masshistpres
********************************