Published: 6/26/2021 11:33:12 PM
DEERFIELD — The Select Board tabled appointments to the Zoning Board of Appeals once again last week after members of the public implored them to discuss a “best practices” policy.
Two meetings have been set up this week, one on Tuesday to discuss the best practices policy and then a second meeting on Wednesday where the board hopes to appoint members to the ZBA before the new fiscal year begins July 1. Both meetings will start at 6 p.m.
The board will discuss a policy on appointing town employees to a regulatory board in response to a series of concerns regarding power and privilege. When referenced previously, including by resident Annie Curtis in a My Turn published in the Greenfield Recorder, the concerns have centered around Deerfield Police Detective Sgt. Adam Sokoloski, who also serves on the ZBA.
Speaking during the Select Board meeting last week, Curtis said the board must consider who is able to participate in town government and the barriers others might face.
“I strongly urge the board and our community to really think about liability concerns that this brings forth,” she said. “I believe that it’s an issue of equity and access to decision-making power in our government and who sits on those particular types of boards.”
Curtis clarified there is nothing wrong with being on a board, but it is important to recognize why some people may not have the opportunity to participate.
“I think we need to acknowledge as a community that it is a privilege,” Curtis said, “to have the time to offer your expertise on one of these boards in an unpaid capacity.”
Finance Committee member Jeff Upton said the town’s boards are made up of a multitude of people with different experiences.
“It’s very important to have people on these boards with a variety of backgrounds because they bring different perspectives and opinions,” Upton said. “We could pick apart any board if we wanted to and I don’t think we should be doing that as residents of Deerfield.”
Having debates and multiple opinions are essential to doing what’s best for the town, Upton added.
“What we need to do is open lines of communication, discuss a little bit more,” he said. “You may not agree all the time, that’s OK.”
Several other residents voiced their opinions before board member Carolyn Shores Ness made a motion to table ZBA appointments for one more week.
Shores Ness said she attended a webinar regarding best practices in government and she thinks Deerfield could benefit from discussing potential policies.
“It is important to discuss this policy because it has huge ramifications,” she said.
Fellow board member Trevor McDaniel seconded the motion to table the ZBA appointments on the condition that the board meet Tuesday to discuss a best practices policy.
“I want people to have a voice. Right now, we have the voice,” McDaniel said. “My concern is we won’t have enough fleshed out by the 30th, but I do think it’s right to give it a shot. … I will allow that time to start that discussion to see if it leads to a place that is going to make a difference on the 30th.”
Select Board Chairman David Wolfram, however, voted against tabling the ZBA appointments because he said it was “ludicrous” to think the board could create a best practices policy so quickly.
Sokoloski did not respond to multiple requests for comment by phone or email.
In other business, the Deerfield Police Department’s members were appointed for fiscal year 2022. Chief John Paciorek Jr. highlighted Administrative Assistant Debra Austin’s efforts over the past year. He wrote in a letter that she was the “single point of contact” for all walk-ins, deliveries and vaccine arrivals, among other things.
The Select Board also awarded bids to Precision Trenchless and Ludlow Construction for sewer replacement and rehabilitation projects in town and authorized using $7,500 to purchase audio equipment for the ease of conducting hybrid meetings.
“It is worth the capital,” McDaniel said, “to make sure people can participate in democracy.”
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