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New Guilford BOS Holds First Meeting

Following their respective oaths of office, the newly minted First Selectman Matt Hoey and Board of Selectmen (BOS) held their first meeting on Dec. 4, covering a few procedural steps and touching on one or two campaign promises.

With the full board sworn in, the BOS formally nominated and unanimously approved Louis Federici as second chair to stand in should the first selectman be disabled or absent.

The new board also appointed a few members to appointed boards and commissions. Hoey commented that, as the town relies on the work of volunteers, a few boards in town are in need of additional members, especially the Standing Building Committee.

“The Standing Building Committee is woefully understaffed,” Hoey said. “I think this brings them to four members on a committee that is [supposed to contain] seven members. This is an appeal to those in the audience that we need folks who have some building or construction expertise to serve on that committee. The three members asked myself and [Republican opponent] Ken MacKenzie during the campaign to talk about the situation they are in and it’s unfair that they are carrying this burden. So if you have the talents or if you want to learn, I am sure some of those folks would be happy to help you and we could sure use your assistance.”

In addition to appointing members to other boards, the BOS also approved its meeting schedule for the coming year. The board approved the traditional scheduling of the first and third Monday of the month at 8:30 a.m. at Town Hall with the exception of holidays that fall on a Monday for now, but Hoey said the schedule will be a point of discussion in the near future.

“There had been some discussion during the campaign about the possibility of moving these meetings to a time that created a greater accessibility for the public,” he said. “I intend to move forward with this meeting schedule, but we will be bringing back to this board and item for discussion about possibly changing meeting times or dates after some review to ensure that we attempt to attract greater participation and involvement by the community while understanding full well that may create some hardships in town government, including [for] some of our employees, but I think it is worth the discussion.”