The selectmen took no action Tuesday night on a proposal to swap the positions of Harvard’s permanent and alternate members of the Devens Enterprise Commission, after Selectwoman Lucy Wallace asked that the permanent position be opened to other town candidates.
Commissioner Eric Stoltzfus, who lives on Harvard land at Devens, has been unable to attend most meetings of the DEC this year and recently asked to swap positions with alternate member Duncan Chapman of Littleton Road, who has been a regular attendee. When a permanent member is absent at a given meeting, the alternate can be seated by a majority vote of the commissioners present.
Selectwoman Wallace said the swap smacked of “insider baseball” and other Harvard citizens should have an opportunity to apply for the position. Stoltzfus should step down, she said, and the opening be made public.
After several minutes of discussion, the selectmen agreed to take no action until their next meeting on Dec. 15. If no one steps forward by then, Chairman Ron Ricci said, the board should implement the switch by nominating Chapman for the permanent position and Stoltzfus as alternate. The two nominations must be approved by Governor Charlie Baker, a process, Ricci reminded the board, that can take months.
The DEC is the regulatory and permitting authority for Devens. Its role, according to its website, is to administer and enforce the Reuse Plan, bylaws, regulations, and sustainability vision within the Devens Regional Enterprise Zone. It functions as a board of health, conservation commission, zoning board of appeals, historic district commission, and planning board. The commissioners must approve permits issued to Devens companies and residences, as well as changes to Enterprise Zone bylaws. Among its most significant decisions this year was its vote to permit construction of 124 new units of housing on Grant Road.
Harvard is represented by two permanent commissioners on the 12-member board. Jim DeZutter of Eldridge Road is the second.
