NEWBURYPORT — The mayor is putting out the call for a few good women and men to help staff almost a dozen city boards and commissions.
Current vacancies exist on the Board of Health, the Board of Registrars, the Board of Water and Sewer Commissioners, the Conservation Commission, the Historical Commission, the Human Rights Commission, the Open Space Committee, the Tree Commission, and the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Mayor Sean Reardon was inaugurated in January. He said finding good public servants is one of his most important responsibilities.
“This is one of the things I was excited about in taking office. We have some people who have been on some of the boards for a long time and are ready to pass the baton on to someone else,” he said.
Each of the volunteer positions require the appointment of the mayor, as well as approval from the City Council.
Reardon also is looking for residents interested in joining his Task Force on Mental Health, which will focus on researching and understanding the state of mental health in the city.
Serving on a board or commission is a good way for newcomers to get to know their new hometown, according to the mayor, who also said he wants to build a pipeline of good people who he knows want to be involved.
“We have a lot of talented people in this area so,” he said. “It is nice that people have stepped up and served, because some of these boards and commissions are a commitment.”
Each board has different responsibilities and terms, according to the mayor, who added the search for new members gives the city a chance to tap into some heretofore unknown resources.
“We have a lot of people who come in, but we just don’t have a good fit for them right now. They will often tell us they are interested in other possibilities as well. So I will take their resume, and, if something opens up, we can do that. In fact, we have already gone back to that list of people who may have applied in January and then we had an opening later,” Reardon said.
The city has experienced a gender disparity when it comes to volunteer board members and Reardon pointed to the recent addition of Lynn Schow to the Zoning Board of Appeals in late June as a good example of a woman looking to serve.
“A lot of these boards are just missing women and I know we have so many qualified, rock-star women who could bring a lot of expertise to these boards,” he said.
The mayor expects to host a volunteer open house in the future, where each board and commission can set up a table and let people know what they do.
Interested applicants are asked to email a letter of interest and resume to Christine Jackson at cjackson@cityofnewburyport.com, or by traditional mail to The Mayor’s Office at City Hall, 60 Pleasant St. For more information go to: www.cityofnewburyport.com/home/news/volunteers-sought-to-serve-on-newburyport-boards-and-commissions-1.
Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Newburyport for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.
Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Newburyport for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.
