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HomeMy WebLinkAboutVolunteer Advisory Sub Comm. 07/12/2023Volunteer Advisory Sub -Committee / Meeting Minutes for July 12, 2023 J Present: Ms. Maureen Doherty and Mr. Brendan Roche attended the meeting at Tow rt rH Y 1 �� Q1Yi a room 2 A/B. Ms. Carol Kosel, Chair of Animal Welfare Committee, Mr. Jeff Ward, Chair tbt'K MaIr1a�FFIC Beautiful and Mr, Joseph Cerretani, Chair of the Planning Board were also present to pa i i th @949fb 9p I 34 interviews that pertained to their respective boards/committees. MANSFIELD • Open the Meeting MASJACHUSETTS The meeting was called to order by Ms. Doherty 6:0313M. • Consideration to Approve Meeting Minutes of March 14, 2023 Motion: To approve the meeting minutes of March 14, 2023. (Roche/Doherty) Passes 2:0 • Interview Candidate for Animal Welfare Committee (AWC) -Shannon Dempsey Ms. Doherty asked Ms. Carol Kosel, Chair of the AWC to explain what the Committee does. Ms. Kosel responded that the committee's main role is to work with the Animal Control Officer, address issues as needed and set policies and procedures for the Animal Shelter. Ms. Shannon Dempsey was present and Ms. Doherty asked her to introduce herself. She responded that she moved to Mansfield in June of 2020 and one of her cats passed away that September and she went to the Mansfield Animal Shelter to adopt. Since then she has been volunteering at the shelter and has attended a few meetings of the AWC over the past year. Mr. Roche asked her what attracted her to volunteer. She stated that she loves animals and she extra time and skills to offer and wanted to get involved. Ms. Doherty asked her what makes her a strong candidate. She responded that she is familiar with the shelter itself and her job as a program manager could be useful to the committee. Mr. Roche asked Ms. Dempsey is she sees a possibility of a conflict of interest and she responded that she can't imagine there would be a conflict. Ms. Doherty then asked if she had any previous relevant experience and Ms. Dempsey responded that she has neen involved for the past two plus years and added that she appreciates that this community has a shelter because it is a great resource. Ms. Roche then asked if she has any questions for them and Ms. Dempsey asked Ms. Kosel what they look for in a committee member. Ms. Kosel responded that they are looking for members who can bring new ideas and be supportive of the policy and procedures and able to help the Animal Control Officer when tough decisions have to be made like euthanizing a dog or cat. • Interview Candidate for Keep Mansfield Beautiful (KMB) — Danielle Dupre Ms. Doherty asked Mr. Ward to explain a little bit about the KMB Committee. Mr. Ward gave an overview stating that it is a committee that wants to keep the Town clean and has many programs that have a mission of keeping it looking clean and vibrant. Mr. Roche then asked Ms. Dupre to tell them about herself. Ms. Dupre explained that she just moved here from Walpole and that she is a marketing director for a startup company that focuses on sustainability through agriculture. She explained that she moved to Mansfield to settle down roots and wanted to get involved and this committee is a natural fit for what she is passionate about. Ms. Doherty asked her what attracted her to apply to KMB and Ms. Dupre explained that she plans to be here a long time and wanted to get involved and be part of something and it is a committee of doers who leave a meeting with things to do. Mr. Roche then asked har what makes her a strong candidate and she responded that her marketing background can offer skills to the committee like helping with the website and social media. She also stated that her passion for sustainability along with what she has learned about agriculture and plants from her job make her a strong candidate. Ms. Doherty asked Ms. Dupre if there were a conflict of interest how would she handle it. Ms. Dupre responded that she cannot think of a situation where there may be one and if one did arise she would be transparent. Mr. Roche then asked her if she had any other experience she wanted to highlight that has not been mentioned and Ms. Dupre explained about her internship work with the Friends of the Public Garden. Ms. Doherty asked her if she had any questions and Ms. Dupre asked about the term expiring in 2023 and what that meant. Ms. Doherty explained that she would have to reapply. Mr. Ward explained that the same thing happened to him when he was first appointed. He also stated that Ms. Dupre has attended some meetings in an unofficial capacity and she has been helpful in getting us to think about social media and what the committee can do to utilize that platform. • Interview Candidates for Planning Board — Beth Ashman Collins, Sreelatha Allam and Christopher Allen Ms. Doherty explained that there were three candidates and two vacancies and then asked Mr. Cerretani to explain what the Planning Board does. Mr. Cerretani stated that the Planning Board is the clearing house for the Town. The Board reviews special permits and site plans and looks at the zoning within the Town and make changes to be current with building codes. He further noted that the Board has a diverse membership with some members having conservation, construction, legal, IT and engineering backgrounds. Ms. Doherty then asked the candidates to share a little bit about themselves. Ms. Sreelatha Allen responded that she has been a resident for eight years and lived in Massachusetts for 20 years and her whole career has been with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a planner for Boston MPO and later MassDOT. Currently she is working as a senior director for one of the largest capital projects for the MBTA. She then provided information on her education and noted that she is at a point in her life where she wants to give back to her community. Mr. Christopher Allen introduced himself and stated that he has been in Mansfield since 2018. He stated that he graduated from Stonehill College with a degree in political science and worked for State Representative Rogers for five years which kept him involved with local government. He stated that he then went to Suffolk for his master's degree in public administration and joined the National Guard in 2011 part time while he got a nursing degree prior to leaving for a deployment. When he returned he worked as a nurse at Beth Israel and continued his nursing education to become a nurse practitioner and during the pandemic he was sent to work at the Holyoke Soldiers Home and now is employed at the VA Hospital. Lastly, he stated that he loves to serve others and is committed to the Town. Ms. Beth Ashman Collins then introduced herself stating that she has her master's degree in community planning. She has worked in economic development and has been working for the state of Rhode Island and is helping them reinvent their apprenticeship office. She stated that her portfolio is not just land use based and she is very interested in the redevelopment of the Downtown and around the train station. Lastly, she noted that she has been in Mansfield since she was expecting her first child and they have now graduated from Mansfield High School. Mr. Roche then asked each candidate what attracted them to apply. Ms. Collins responded that she loves all of the different elements to planning and is interested in having a Board that listens to people, but does not let individual interests hang things up and respects the time of the applicant. Mr. Allen responded that he is going to be in Mansfield a long time and there is so much opportunity for growth in town and wants to be involved in that process. Ms. Allam stated that she has time and resources that can help better the community. She stated that she also has lots of experience with state and federal regulations including environmental. She then explained that she has also been taking minutes for the Town of Medway's Planning Board and has now been exposed to local town government. She stated that she is amazed at how volunteers come together to make the town better and realized that she should do the same for Mansfield. Ms. Doherty then asked each candidate why they believed they were a strong candidate for this committee. Ms. Allam responded that her education and work experience make her a strong candidate. Mr. Allen responded that he has experience writing home rule petitions and working with state representatives and has seen how tax dollars get filtered back to the Towns and his experience in the military make him a strong candidate. Ms. Collins responded that she is passionate about Planning and brings a breath of skills to the Board and enjoys working with people. Mr. Roche then asked each candidate if there were any conflicts of interest and how would they handle it. Ms. Collins responded that she has not had to recuse herself many times while serving on the Planning Board, but is very familiar with the rules. Mr. Allen stated that he does not see any potential conflicts and would abide by the rules and procedures if appointed. Ms. Allam responded that she clearly understands the rules from working for the state. Mr. Roche then asked the applicants if they had any questions. Ms. Allam asked how often does the Planning Board meet. Mr. Cerretani responded that they were meeting once a week leading up to Town Meeting but generally they meet every other Wednesday. Ms. Allam then asked if the Planning Board works with SRPEDD and Mr. Cerretani responded that they do and recently just completed the Housing Production Plan with SRPEDD. • Other items not known 48 hours in advance of the meeting There were no items. • Adjourn Motion: To adjourn the July 12, 2023 Volunteer Advisory Subcommittee meeting at 6:58PM. (Roche/Doherty) Passes 2:0 / f � //MINAh V•I ICl/ Date Prepared by Carrie Champagne