City Council - Appointment Committee

Appointment Committee Meeting Minutes: January 28, 2021 Councilor Rothschild called the meeting to order at 6:01pm. Members Present: Councilor Lindsey Rothschild, Councilor Erica Flood, Councilor James P. (JP) Also in Attendance: Austin Sanders (Associate Planning Board member), Barbara LaBombard (City clerk), Emily Russo (Personnel Director), Councilor Homar Gomez Approval of Minutes: Motion to approve minutes from 1-13-21 (Councilor Kwiecinski) Second (Chairwoman Rothschild) - unanimously approved Public Speak Time: No comments from the public. Continuing Business: Mayoral Appointments: Name Board/Committee Term Expires Austin Sanders Planning Board Dec. 31, 2022 Kathryn Harrison Affordable & Fair Housing Partnership Dec. 31, 2021 Jackie Brousseau-Pereira Board of Registrars of Voters Dec. 31, 2023 Austin Sanders was present and introduced himself to the committee Councilor Kwiecinski asked about experience now that Austin is on the board rather than an associate member, Austin thought format is a bit different in that there is a bit more public engagement with zoom, perhaps meeting length has changed as well. Summer was quite busy. Councilor Kwiecinski asked Austin if he felt the public has had the opportunity to engage enough to feel like everyone has been heard? Austin felt that this was the case, also that city employees have stepped up to listen to resident and business concerns. Motion (Councilor Kwiecinski) to recommend Austin Sanders to the Planning Board for term ending Dec. 31, 2022, Second (Councilor Flood) - unanimously approved. Kathy Harrison discussion, high interest in fair and affordable housing and school re-use committee when established. Motion (Councilor Flood) to reccomend Kathy to Affordable & Fair Housing Partnership for a term ending Dec. 31, 2021. Second (Councilor Kwiecinski) – unanimously approved Barbara Labombard expressed strong support for Jackie Brousseau-Pereira and noted that we needed a Democratic replacement on the board of registrars due to rules. Help with last day to register to vote. Cannot help at polls but can help out in the hallways. In recount Board of Registrars conduct the recount – they must be neutral judges. Councilor Kwiecinski thanked Barbara for attending tonight and asked a few questions – How many people on board? (3) Currently there are 2 republicans and Jackie would be a Democrat. Barbara is on board and currently non-affiliated. Board receives roughly $125 per year stipend. If there was a vote recount you have teams of people counting a ballot, if there was a question of voter intent, the board would determine the ballot. One member of the board of registrars helped to count the overseas ballots for this past election. Motion (Councilor Flood) to recommend Jackie Brousseau-Pereira to Board of Registrars of Voters for a term ending Dec. 31, 2023. Second (Chairwoman Rothschild) – unanimous vote. Discussion of Rule 11H Chairwoman Rothschild read letter from Councilor Zaret (Councilor) regarding recommendations for the appointment process as provided by email prior to meeting. Emily Russo (Personnel Director) gave guidance on questioning, what to ask and what is not allowed. All candidates should be asked the same questions. All questions should be neutral, relevant follow up questions are allowed within the context of the original question. Councilor Kwiecinski speaks about Mayor’s vetting process and Emily expands on the process of vetting candidates for department head and city employment positions. Councilor Kwiecinski asks for clarification on process for volunteers to boards and committees. Emily is not aware of this. Chairwoman Rothschild will be meeting with Mayor and L. Mailler on Wednesday to clarify this process. Councilor Gomez – agrees the idea that having a sampling of questions to present to all candidates is helpful and would like to be allowed to ask follow up questions. Discussion ensues about how to formulate 3-4 broad questions that touch on areas of experience, interest, and public engagement. Preliminary questions were formulated as follows: 1) Why are you interested in serving on this committee/board? 2) In what ways do you see yourself being able to contribute to this committee? - professional experience, different perspectives 3) What are ways you engage with the Easthampton community? - social media, community volunteerism, school involvement, etc. Councilor Gomez acknowledged this is a good start. Discussion regarding having volunteers/appointees sign a code of conduct. Emily said currently only a conflict of interest is required. City does have a code of conduct we could look to for adoption. Councilor Kwiecinski asked if Open Meeting Law training is part of the onboarding process for appointees? All agree this is an important component to add. Discussion on submission of resume or list of relevant experience in leue of resume. Committee members will review examples of code of conduct before next meeting to be able to further discuss that component. Motion to Adjourn (Councilor Flood), Second (Councilor Kwiecinski) – unanimous vote Meeting adjourned at 7:00pm. New Business: No new business Respectfully Submitted, Councilor Erica Ann Flood Clerk to the Appointment Committee