The creation of two “alternate member” positions for the Conservation Commission is scheduled to be discussed at a public hearing and considered by a town meeting next week.
The hearing, followed by the town meeting, are both planned for Wednesday, Feb. 17, starting at 7:30 in town hall’s lower level conference room.
The Conservation Commission is a nine-member agency charged with protecting the town’s natural resources. Its principal task is managing the town’s roughly 3,000 acres of open space land. But it has other duties that range from commenting on land development applications before the planning and zoning authorities to seeking donations to the town’s open space fund.
Members are appointed by the first selectman, and the two alternates would be as well.
The matter came up when the selectmen were reviewing members for re-appointment and longtime member Dr. Ben Oko said he wanted to step down but would like to stay involved and serve as an alternate.
There was a shared recollection that Conservation Commission alternates had been approved in the last charter revision, but research could uncover no official evidence or documentation that alternate positions had been created.
So the selectmen are proposing to add two alternate positions by amending the ordinance that originally created the commission.
The alternates would be encouraged to attend all meetings, but an alternate would be called upon to vote only if a regular member were absent.
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