BETHEL — The Board of Selectmen unanimously voted Monday evening to approve an ordinance change that would increase the Recreation Board’s ranks from five regular members and two alternates to seven regular members and two alternates.
Selectman Peter Southam asked Town Manager Christine Landes if increasing the number of members on the Recreation Board would “make it more difficult for them to have a quorum.”
“The whole idea of increasing the number of members is meant to avoid that exact problem, as long as they can find the numbers and fill the positions,” Landes replied.
In other business, the selectmen voted 4-0 to appoint resident John DeVivo to the Bingham Forest Authority.
DeVivo will replace Jim Largess, who resigned from the board at a previous selectmen’s meeting. He ran against Newry resident Dave Bonney, who currently serves as Newry’s code enforcement officer.
Southam asked the rest of the board whether they should choose a Newry resident to replace Largess.
Chairman Stan Howe said that he thought both DeVivo and Bonney would make good members of the Bingham Forest Authority.
Landes said that DeVivo, who also serves on the town’s Budget Committee, would not have a conflict of interest by serving on the Bingham Forest Authority.
The selectmen also voted to approve $21,659 of overdrafts to the annual town meeting warrant.
Landes said that a majority of the overdrafts for the 2014-2015 fiscal year were due to budget issues from the previous year.
“Some of the accounts were reduced last year for reasons we can’t figure out,” Landes said. “We ended up having overdrafts in some of those accounts.”
Bethel’s annual town meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 9, and Wednesday, June 10.
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