KENT—The Park and Recreation Commission discussed a reconfiguration of its membership during Monday night’s meeting.
The commission has been revising its bylaws in recent months and one provision questioned is the ordinance requiring the third selectman to be part of its voting membership. It is the only commission in Kent to have such a provision, although the first selectman is an ex officio, non-voting, member of every town board and commission.
First Selectman Marty Lindenmayer reviewed the bylaws with attorney Randy DiBella of the law firm Cramer & Anderson and determined that inclusion of the third selectman does not undermine minority representation on the Park and Recreation Commission but could raise conflict of interest questions on budgetary items.
“If the person is ethically and morally straight, if [he or she] votes on an issue during the Park and Rec meetings, they should not vote again on the Board of Selectmen,” Lindenmayer said. This would give the third selectman “a double bite at the apple” if he or she disagrees with the majority decision of Park and Recreation.
He said a selectman with special knowledge could be a benefit to the commission, but that representation might change with each election, eliminating the benefit. “The ordinance says the third selectman will be on the commission, but it doesn’t say why,” Lindenmayer said. “It’s been that way since 1999. We [the selectmen] try to stay out of the commissions’ work, but it’s what the ordinance says.”
Lindenmayer said Lynn Mellis Worthington, the current selectman/liaison, has done “an unbelievably remarkable job” working with Park and Recreation, a sentiment echoed by others. Worthington said she did not take issue with the discussion and understood the concerns being discussed.
The ordinance must be changed at town meeting to remove the requirement. Park and Rec Director Matt Busse said he sees the change as creating a “much cleaner” situation. “We are our own entity,” he said. “For ethical purposes in the future, if there is a tough, narrow decision and it goes to the selectmen, ethically it could be difficult. It would make sense not to have the third selectman as an assigned member.”
Park and Rec member Kate Symonds said she had always appreciated having a selectman on the board but questioned “the voting part.”
Worthington questioned whether it is similarly permissible to have a salaried employee as an ex officio, non-voting member participate as a member of the board. Busse is salaried and the current bylaws designate the director as an ex officio member but doesn’t explicitly state he is non-voting. She said the way the proposed bylaws update is written, “he would be a member, but not voting.”
Park and Rec Chairman Rufus P. de Rham said Busse is an important addition to commission meetings.
Another issue weighed was the acceptance of stocks and bonds as donations to Park and Recreation. Busse noted that such assets could lose value in a bear market and “not be an asset anymore.” He suggested that such gifts be sold and put in a special fund for Park and Recreation. Worthington questioned whether donations can be made to town departments and asked what the town policy for gifts is.
Another possible adjustment to the ordinance would be to increase the director’s discretion in purchasing items. The ability to expend sums has been capped at $1,000 since 1999, an amount no longer seen as sufficient.
Further discussion of changes to the ordinance, and perhaps a vote, will take place in the July meeting.
