Charlotte amends rules: Selectboard members can’t join other boards

Months of contention about whether a member of the Charlotte Selectboard should also be a member of other town boards or committees may have ended.

At a Thursday, May 27 meeting the selectboard approved an amendment to town rules of procedure banning the practice.

Approval of the amendment was a bit contentious with selectboard member Frank Tenney objecting to the rule change. Tenney resigned his seat on the zoning board in April, but he retained his seat on the selectboard.

Before the vote, Tenney said the rest of the board knew how he felt. “This was just brought up to get me off the zoning board.”

Selectboard member Lewis Mudge, who drafted the amendment, said the change came at the request of Charlotte residents. He said many people told him “they would like to see less changing of hats.”

“I won’t lie and say your name was never mentioned, but the intention is not simply to get you off the zoning board of authority,” Mudge said.

Although board member Louise McCarren supported the amendment, she said Tenney is a major contributor to the selectboard.

“I’m so humbled by being able to work with him. He’s smart, he’s hardworking, he’s knowledgeable and he’s connected,” McCarren said. “This should never be personalized to you, Frank. This is this is just what we had to do.”

Chair Matt Krasnow echoed McCarren’s comments, citing Tenney’s years of leadership on the zoning board and unmatched knowledge of zoning regulations.

“I think it’s a loss to the town,” Krasnow said, “but it’s a decision the selectboard was asked by residents to make.”

The amendment was approved 4-1, with Tenney casting the dissenting vote.

Zoom town meetings?

With the pandemic winding down and quarantine restrictions being lifted, it looks like Zoom may continue to be a part of municipal government meetings in Charlotte.

The selectboard discussed bringing back in-person board meetings while keeping the remote component.

McCarren said she didn’t think the selectboard needed to immediately decide how future meetings will be conducted, but she supported not returning to fully in-person ones. She advocated for meetings to move to a hybrid model with people able to attend physically or virtually.

“I think we should try this because it allows more people to participate,” she said.

Board member Jim Faulkner questioned whether all town committees should be required to offer both the virtual and in-person option. For example, he said most of the members of the Sand shed committee would prefer to meet in person and he wondered if even that committee should offer both options.

McCarren said residents should always have an option with the chance to participate virtually or in-person.

“Having the Zoom option gives young talented Charlotters, who want to be involved in volunteering for some of these committees, the opportunity to participate from home,” McCarren said.

If residents with children don’t have to find child care, it gives them the opportunity “to jump in on a meeting,” McCarren said. “I think participation will be much, much better. We’ve been able to do it for the past year, so why not continue it?”

At the beginning of the pandemic, the selectboard was holding hybrid meetings and the switch from the Zoom video feed to the in-person video feed was “seamless,” Tenney said.

Faulkner said Ken French of the Media Factory, a nonprofit public access organization that tapes town meetings, had suggestions for the town about how to improve sound.

French suggested some improvements the town could make, including installing acoustic tiles in the town hall to improve sound quality, Faulkner said.

Krasnow asked town administrator Dean Block to compile costs for Charlotte to hold both virtual and physical meetings going forward. The board will consider the issue at its next meeting, June 14.

Town hall reopening

The board decided to wait until its next meeting to decide whether to reopen town hall to the public, which means for the time being the maximum number of people allowed in the building who aren’t town employees is five.

“My impression is throughout the pandemic the selectboard has been erring on the side of caution,” said Krasnow. “I think that’s worked well for our town.”