Avondale Estates named three new members to its Planning and Zoning Board during a work session last week, and for now has resolved protocol procedures that appeared to cause a rift within the commission.
During a Monday, Sept. 19 work session Mayor Jonathan Elmore cited his belief that there were “no bylaws on how we select committees.” Therefore, he added, that because they were elected officials the commission should select every board member of every board.
Mayor Pro Tem Terry Giager countered by saying the replacement of board members was the responsibility of that specific board.
Two days later matters were cleared up considerably:
— The commission named Martha Teall, Todd Pullen and Joe Anziano as the new PZB members. The two active PZB members submitted three names each, and the five commissioners submitted three each. There were no ties with the three named getting the most votes.
— Last week, City Manager Clai Brown reminded commissioners of a 2011 resolution that essentially says the chairman of a board or committee must make a recommendation to fill any vacancy, but also the commission gets the final say. In the end, the action taken in the PZB situation conformed closely to that resolution.
Brown didn’t attend the original Monday work session due to the recent death of his mother.
— Elmore backed down from his original Monday statement.
“We are going to leave it to the [individual] boards to select new members,” he said. “But I do believe that resolution needs further clarification to cover the what-ifs that prompted questions in this case. We will look into that down the road.”
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