Help wanted: 23 vacancies remain unfilled on town boards and committees

Last week’s election filled only one of the 24 vacancies on town boards and committees. Since the town charter was adopted, most board and committee members are appointed by the Select Board, with a few still appointed by the town moderator. But the appointers need a volunteer pool to choose from, and that pool has become shallow of late.

The unfilled seats represent a broad range of interest and expertise, from energy to conservation to finance. Some positions require more work than others, but many boards are looking for associate or alternate members who are not required to attend every meeting. It’s a good way to become familiar with the job before jumping into full-fledged membership.

Below is a list of open positions, as well as information supplied to the Press by committee chairs and members regarding the expected time commitment or necessary expertise.

Agricultural Advisory Commission seeks one alternate

This commission of five members and three alternates supports commercial agricultural and other farming activities in Harvard. The commission’s charge states that the majority of members should be “substantially engaged in the pursuit of agriculture,” and members must either be Harvard residents or “owners and farmers of agricultural property” within the town. Chair Kerri Green says the commission has become more active recently with a focus on advocating for the agricultural integrity of Harvard. She added that anyone with a “passion for agriculture” would make a good member. The group usually meets on the third Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m.

Bare Hill Pond Watershed Management Committee
seeks one member and one student member

This group of seven members and one student member looks after the pond and its watershed. Chairman Bruce Leicher said that activities include drawdowns of the pond, stormwater control, and watershed environmental monitoring. The committee also coordinates with the harbormaster, the Department of Public Works, watershed residents, and other boards and committees in town to promote best practices for the pond and its watershed.

The group meets once a month, usually on Monday nights. While no specific expertise is required, the committee is looking for people to lead efforts such as frog counts, educational activities, and input to other town boards. Leicher said that a student member would assist with habitat education and environmental monitoring such as the frog count.

Board of Assessors
seeks one member

At 2018 Town Meeting, the town voted to authorize petitioning the state Legislature to allow Harvard’s Select Board to replace its Board of Assessors with a professional individual or company. That petition has not yet been approved by the Legislature. In the meantime, the Board of Assessors’ business continues, and it is required to have three members. The work of actually assessing the town’s properties and maintaining the database is done by a professional organization and a town employee. But the board usually meets once a month beginning in the fall to conduct necessary business such as reviewing sales data for the year, signing documents, and reviewing applications for chapter land, a program that allows a portion of a resident’s property to be taxed as agricultural, forestry, or open space/recreation. No previous experience is required. Anyone joining the board has one year to take a state-administered exam, but it’s not likely the board will last that long.

Broadband Committee
seeks two members

The Broadband Committee is working on bringing a fiber-optic broadband network to Harvard, and it is currently working on a business plan for this revenue-generating project. Chair Noyan Kinayman told the Press last year that the project needs expertise “from a multitude of professions,” and while all applicants would be considered, a resident with a finance background would be very helpful. Meetings have been sparse this year but are typically held on Thursday evenings.

Conservation Commission
seeks one associate

The Conservation Commission, consisting of seven members and one associate, is responsible for enforcing the state Wetlands Protection Act and the Harvard wetlands bylaws. It also manages town-owned conservation land, currently about 1,800 acres. No experience is necessary, and although some sort of background with environmental issues is helpful, it’s not a prerequisite. Meetings are the first and third Thursday evenings of each month, but associate members need not attend every meeting and do not vote.

Cultural Council
seeks one student member

The Cultural Council administers the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s local Cultural Council grant program. It uses community input to determine which local cultural projects to fund each year. Co-chair Lucy Clerkin said the council meets throughout the grant cycle; the group has had five meetings so far in 2018. She added that Bromfield students typically join the council as part of their senior service project, and they provide valuable input to the council by sharing ideas, taking minutes, and helping with other administrative tasks.

Devens Enterprise Commission
seeks one member

The Devens Enterprise Commission (DEC) serves as a planning board, historical commission, zoning board, conservation commission, and board of health for Devens. It consists of 12 members and four alternates, all appointed by the governor, and Harvard is allocated one member and an alternate. According to the town’s Executive Assistant Julie Doucet, the governor would like to fill the position with a woman. The DEC website lists qualifications as “proven expertise in industrial development, housing, finance, business, real estate, environment, planning, transportation, or municipal government.” Meetings are once a month at Devens on Thursday mornings at 7:30 a.m.

Elm Commission
seeks one member

The four-member Elm Commission works with the tree warden to plant and care for the trees (elms and non-elms) from Pond Road to the Public Safety Building. Chair Bill Calderwood told the Press that the only expertise required is an interest in trees. Most of the group’s activities—pruning, caring for, and planting new trees—are in the winter and spring, leaving plenty of time for a new member to get up to speed on the commission’s work. The committee meets a few times in the spring and fall.

Energy Advisory Committee
seeks two associates
and one student member

The Energy Advisory Committee does just that—it advises town officials on ways to reduce energy consumption and costs as well as on improving energy-use practices. Help is needed with a multitude of projects, including the electrical aggregation project, defining goals as a member town in the state’s Green Community program, and public education and community engagement. Chair Brian Smith said no specific expertise is required, and the committee will help any member get the support he or she needs to work on projects. Smith added that what the committee hopes to find in a student member is someone to “help advance a specific project or initiative and provide a connection to the schools, which are the largest user of energy in town.” The committee meets the second and fourth Wednesday of the month at 8 p.m.

Finance Committee
seeks one associate

The Finance Committee advises the Select Board and the town on financial matters, including budgets, warrant articles that involve expenditures, and long-term debt. Unlike the other boards and committees listed here, Finance Committee members are appointed by the town moderator, but the process of applying is the same. The committee has nine members and two associates who do not vote and serve only one-year terms. Meetings are typically Wednesday evenings, but the number of meetings per month varies from one to as many as four in budget season.

Fourth of July Committee
seeks three members

While this committee has no fixed number of members, it is responsible for organizing and executing the town’s fireworks, parade, and field events every July 4. Committee Chair Anne Hentz said the jobs the group specifically needs to fill are field events chair, a corporate sponsorship program development person, and someone to coordinate the shuttle bus service the committee is adding next year to ferry people back and forth from the fireworks at Fruitlands Museum. Hentz said the time commitment can be as little as 10 to 20 hours for the year, and meetings are infrequent, as most members perform their tasks independently.

Historical Commission
seeks two alternates

The Historical Commission oversees modifications in the Shaker Village or Harvard Center Historic Districts. Chair Pam Marston said that members do not need to be residents of the historic district or have any formal training in historical preservation, but they should “have an interest in preserving and protecting the historic assets of Harvard.” The board consists of seven members and two alternates; alternate members vote only when needed to make a quorum.
The commission meets on the first Wednesday of every month at 7 p.m.

Municipal Affordable Housing Trust seeks one trustee

The five-member trust is an agency dedicated to the development of affordable housing in the town. According to member Alice von Loesecke, prospective members should be interested in “helping the town to be proactive in achieving its affordable and moderate-income housing goals, which might include investigating potential funding of proposed developments in Harvard and Devens for affordable options and researching ways to improve Harvard zoning for affordable and moderate housing.” The group has not established a regular meeting schedule yet.

Permanent Building Committee
seeks one member

The Select Board created the Permanent Building Committee earlier this year to oversee municipal building projects from design to completion (except for school building projects) in the hope that members will gain experience that will carry over from project to project. Chair Cindy Russo said that a new member would ideally have one or more of the following skills: familiarity with public and/or significant construction projects, understanding of buildings and infrastructure (HVAC, electrical, plumbing), and ability to read and understand construction and engineering drawings. The committee typically meets once or twice a month at 8 a.m. on Wednesdays.

Planning Board
seeks one member or associate

Planning Board member Rich Maiore was recently elected to the Select Board, so his seat will soon be open. Chair Erin McBee said Maiore will stay on until the Coil Brothers site plan review is finished, to ensure a quorum at meetings. After that, McBee said, if the current associate accepts the full member seat, the open seat will be for an associate. According to its mission statement on the town website, the Planning Board “strives to preserve and enhance the integrity of Harvard’s rural character” through the use of state and local regulatory tools. McBee said no experience is necessary, but “a background in planning, town government, architecture, or land-use law is a plus.” The board meets twice a month, typically on Monday nights.

Zoning Board of Appeals
seeks one alternate

The Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) reviews requests from residents for zoning special permits or variances, and for comprehensive permits from developers seeking to build affordable housing in Harvard. Land Use Administrator Liz Allard said that while no experience is necessary, “the ZBA looks at a lot of plans,” and engineering experience is helpful with that. The board consists of three members and three alternates who can vote in place of any members who are absent from a meeting. The board typically meets on the second Wednesday of each month if there are any requests for review, but it may meet more frequently when discussing an affordable housing permit.