[MassHistPres] Clarification about alternate members of Historical Commissions (Ipswich Historical Commission)
Jim Biancolo
lenoxprojects at gmail.com
Wed May 13 15:58:37 EDT 2015
I assume it is still acceptable to just have a quorum?
To me a "shall" that means "as close as possible" is not a "shall" at all.
It's a goal.
But I am not a lawyer. My guess is that most commissions use the amended
8D to try to obtain a quorum not to maximize attendance. If the
requirement is to maximize attendance then I suggest someone in authority
communicate this to all HC's.
Jim Biancolo
Lenox Historical Commission Volunteer
On Wed, May 13, 2015 at 12:35 PM, Tad Heuer <tadheuer at gmail.com> wrote:
> Agree entirely with Gretchen's observation that the "filling of a vacancy"
>> on the Board (or the appointment of an individual as an "alternate member")
>> must still be made by the appointing authority (Town Manager, Selectmen,
>> etc.), while the designation of a duly-appointed alternate to participate
>> in the absence of a principal member is made by the Chair on a
>> meeting-by-meeting basis
>
>
> One minor additional observation is that we have been advised by our town
>> counsel in Wellesley that the word "shall" in the second sentence of the 8D
>> amendment is to be interpreted as mandating that if the number of principal
>> members present falls below the full complement, the Chair is required to
>> designate sufficient alternate(s) to participate as principal members for
>> that meeting, so as to reach (or get as close as possible to) the number of
>> seats that comprises a full complement.
>
>
>
>> In other words, the interpretation we have been given is that the 8D
>> amendment is not simply to enable a Board to obtain a quorum, but is
>> drafted to require that the Board have as full a complement available to
>> discuss/vote as is possible at a given meeting. To illustrate, if on a
>> 7-member board four principal members are absent at a meeting but four
>> alternates are available, we have been advised that the Chair should
>> designate all four alternates to participate, not just the one necessary to
>> assure a quorum.
>
>
>
>> You own town counsel may also be able to advise on this as well, of
>> course.
>
>
> Tad Heuer
> Chair, Wellesley Historical Commission
>
>>
>
>
>> ------------------------------
>>
>> Message: 3
>> Date: Tue, 12 May 2015 15:40:28 -0400
>> From: "Gretchen Schuler" <ggschuler at verizon.net>
>> Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Clarification about alternate members of
>> Historical Commissions
>> To: "'Ipswich Historical Commission'" <historicipswich at gmail.com>,
>> <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>, "'John Fiske'" <jfiske39 at gmail.com>
>> Message-ID: <009a01d08ceb$803b2f70$80b18e50$@verizon.net>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>>
>> I don?t believe that you can fill a vacancy ? that can only be done by
>> Town Manager/ Board of Selectmen, but the Chair of the Historical
>> Commission can ask an alternate to vote in the interim as long as you do
>> not exceed the 5 or 7 member commission that you adopted in your
>> Historical Commission bylaw. Generally it is a meeting by meeting decision
>> of the Chair to select an alternate to vote in lieu of someone who is
>> absent or a slot that is vacant as the case may be.
>>
>> Gretchen Schuler
>>
>> Wayland HDC
>>
>>
>>
>> From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu [mailto:
>> masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Ipswich Historical
>> Commission
>> Sent: Tuesday, May 12, 2015 1:35 PM
>> To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu; John Fiske
>> Subject: [MassHistPres] Clarification about alternate members of
>> Historical Commissions
>>
>>
>>
>> We need clarification of the new law for alternate members on Historical
>> Commissions.
>>
>> "Section 8D of chapter 40 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012
>> Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the tenth sentence
>> the following sentences:- Alternate members may be appointed in like manner
>> as provided for in this section not exceeding in number the principal
>> members. In the case of the absence or inability to act on the part of a
>> principal member, the place of such member shall be taken by an alternate
>> member designated by the chairman."
>>
>> We have a vacancy on our Commission. Does the change mean the Chair
>> should appoint an alternate to fill the vacancy until a new person is
>> appointed by our Town Manager, or does it mean that the Chair can only
>> appoint an alternate as a voting member in the absence of a quorum?
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Gordon Harris, Ipswich Historical Commission
>>
>> Stories from Ipswich <http://ipswich.wordpress.com>
>> Historical Commission site <http://historicipswich.org>
>>
>>
>>
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