The Town Council had ten candidates interviewed for the recently named Lions Hall Study Committee during its June 17 meeting and after a somewhat extended debate, all 10 residents were chosen for the board.
The main charge of the committee is to deliver a recommendation to the council no later than Oct. 1, 2024.
As part of the original makeup of the group, there were supposed to be five full-time members and two alternates.
Quickly after interviewing the candidates, Town Councilor, John Farrell, proposed his list of nominees, who he said had different needed skill sets in order to get it done, in the short timeframe.
“We need people who are going to get this done in three months,” Farrell said.
Those who were originally left off were Ann Chiampa, Ray Breslin, and Dan Bouchard. Bouchard was the only person to sign up, but not attend the interview.
Farrell argued his list had people with expertise in different areas, including a project manager, a historian, someone who has hosted events, among others, but the three other councilors at the meeting didn’t agree with his choices.
Town Councilor, Shawn Faber, said they had a lot of good candidates and they have a good amount of work to do, and suggested they go with seven full-time members and three alternates.
Farrell argued that seven is generally the ideal amount for boards and committees and added that he is concerned with having a short time-period to get decisions made.
“This is basically a 120-day committee,” Farrell said.
Town Councilor, Ron Dunn, interjected that he thinks the Utilities Committee is in a similar situation, where they have a lot of members, but it works out because they can have things like sub committees.
“We need volunteers in town to help us,” Dunn said.
Without a second to Farrell’s proposal from the other councilors on who to appoint to the committee, a question became if they would be able to change the “Charge” at the meeting, or if they would have to have it as an agenda item in the future.
Farrell then said, based on the fact that it is a Study Committee, it was his understanding that they could change the Charge at the meeting. Town Manager, Mike Malaguti, said he agreed with that assessment.
Members ultimately agreed to change the makeup of the committee, which will include seven full-time members and three alternates.
Candidates chosen for full members were: John Blay; Larry Casey; Derek D’Anna; David Ellis; Dan Gore; Frank Holdsworth; and Kathy Wagner. Alternate members were: Ray Breslin; Ann Chiampa; and Dan Bouchard.
The Study Committee was originally given the following Charge:
“Londonderry Lions Hall Study Committee (heretofore called “Committee”) shall exist to research and make recommendations to the Town Council regarding the use, restoration, maintenance, and funding options for the Lion’s Hall.”
It goes on to state “All members shall be appointed by the Town Council on an ad hoc basis. The Committee shall determine its own rules and order of business, unless otherwise provided by law or Town Charter,” the charge for the committee states. “The Committee shall choose from its members a Chair and Secretary. The Committee shall report to the Londonderry Town Council and exist until such as time as the Town Council deems it inactive. All committee members must be town residents.”