Westwood Select Board Moves to Hybrid Meetings; Vacant Seat on April Town Election Ballot

Westwood Select Board Meetings will host all of its future meetings in a hybrid format, and the seat left open by Robert Gotti’s resignation will be placed on the April 28th Town Election ballot, announced Westwood Select Board Chair Marianne LeBlanc Cummings in a brief, remotely held board meeting that preceded its participation in the Finance and Warrant Commission (FinCom) meeting on Wednesday evening, February 11th.

The Select Board was attending FinCom’s meeting to present the board’s proposed budget, and took the opportunity to address a handful of pressing matters.

As the first order of business, Select Board Clerk Joseph Previtera quickly nominated Ms. Cummings to the position of chairperson, which he and Ms. Cummings approved. That position was vacant after the recent resignation of Robert Gotti. Mr. Gotti made the announcement at the board’s February 3rd
meeting, and submitted his letter to the town clerk on February 6th, said Ms. Cummings.

Then, noting the approach of the April 28th Annual Town Election, Ms. Cummings and Mr. Previtera took action to fill Mr. Gotti’s vacated seat. That vacancy will appear on the upcoming ballot, and interested candidates can “pull papers” by contacting the town clerk's office as early as Thursday morning, February 12th, said Ms. Cummings. The position will be for a one-year term, representing the remainder of Mr. Gotti’s term.

Select Board’s announcement regarding a move to the hybrid meeting format beginning with its next meeting on February 23rd follows multiple requests from residents for greater transparency, including specific and repeated requests for hybrid meetings. Residents have complained that nuances in communication are lost by the fully remote meeting format that the board has used in recent years. Residents are unable to see who among their neighbors are also present because only the handful of panelists are typically viewable on attendees’ screens. The number of attendees is also viewable only to the panelists. Residents also have complained about not being able to speak with other attendees. Additionally, the online chat function of Zoom is generally not enabled during remote Select Board meetings.

In a comment period following Select Board’s February 11th announcements, and at the opening of FinCom business, resident William Selles submitted a written comment suggesting that Select Board should expand to five members.

That suggestion was acknowledged as something to share with the Charter Review Committee, to be addressed in a future discussion of possible charter revisions.

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