This post was originally written in 2023 to reflect important roles for Select Board members in anticipation of challenging times ahead for Longmeadow.
Longmeadow Annual Town Elections will be held tomorrow on Tuesday, June 3. There are four candidates vying for two open SB seats in this election:
Mark Gold, Dan Zwirko, Maury Garrett and Shelly Maynard-DeWolf
Because Mr. Garrett and Ms. Maynard-DeWolf are newcomers to our local election politics, I felt that it would be helpful to ask Mark Gold- a current and the longest tenured member of the Select Board (since 2009) for an outline of the “homework” that is required for him in order to adequately prepare for SB meetings.
Below is a summary of his responses which were recently reviewed and updated...
Jim Moran
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Contrary to what many people believe, being an effective Select Board member is more than committing time for the meetings- two nights a month.
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| Mark Gold Select Board member since 2009 |
Mark attends an average of 8 meetings outside of the Select Board each month.
(As
a minimum Select Board members should attend those meetings for which they are
the SB liaison.)
Mark attends on a regular basis the following standing committees:
- Scantic Valley
Regional Health Trust
Meets 9:30 - 11 AM/ once/month - Pioneer Valley
Transit Authority
Meets 12 – 2 PM/ once/month - Pioneer Valley
Planning Commission’s MPO (Traffic and Roadway) Meeting - PVTA
Meets 10 AM – 12 PM/ once/month - Longmeadow
Permanent Building Committee
Meets 3-5 PM/ once per month
In
addition, Mark is also a member of the PVTA/ Paratransit subcommittee
(Dial-a-Ride) because it is an important service in the Longmeadow community as
well as the PVTA’s executive compensation committee. These two sub-committees
meet about 4-6 times per year in addition to the board meetings (for about an
hour at a time).
Mark’s participation on these committees provide critical contacts with leaders
of other Western Mass communities as well as insight and information that
supports actions by the Longmeadow Select Board.
Mark also tries to attend a couple of Longmeadow Finance Committee meetings
during the year, at least one Community Preservation Committee and one
Longmeadow Capital Planning Committee meeting as well. These meeting are
"seasonal" -generally during budget time. He also attends all of the
town sponsored forums on the budget and related topics which typically occur
1-2 times/ year.
Prior
to serving on the Select Board, Mark served as the chairman of the Longmeadow
Capital Planning Committee. For eight years on that panel Mark championed the
maintenance and rehabilitation of Longmeadow's buildings as well as planned
spending for DPW fleet purchases and Fire Engines. Mark feels that this
earlier experience on the Capital Planning Committee provided many benefits and
insights for his current role on the Select Board.
Mark has no idea how much time other Select Board members spend
outside the regular meetings. He does know that the SB chair has to spend
time before every meeting reviewing the agenda with the Town Manager Lyn
Simmons.
A Select Board member with a full time job and family commitments could be hard
pressed to participate in many of these types of board meetings that are
regularly held during "normal business hours”. For many of these boards
and committees, it's important that a representative from Longmeadow is present
to represent the town’s interests and report back the committee actions.
Mark participates in as many Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) training
webinars as possible. Last year he participated in 3 or 4 of them and usually
skips the annual training on Open Meeting Law and Municipal Finances since he
has completed them several times and they really don't change. There are two
required training programs that all town employees (including Select Board
members) must complete on Open Meeting Law and Conflict of Interest. These
training programs are conducted on-line and take about 2 hours each to
complete. Select Board members must complete a "test" at the end of
the course and pass to be certified. Mark also attends the MMA annual meeting
in Boston for two days every January.. Many initiatives that continue to
benefit the town were first identified through participation at the MMA meeting
such as street light purchases and the upcoming municipal electrical
aggregation.
Prior to each Select Board meeting members receive a packet of information to
review. The packet generally comes out on the Friday before the regular Monday
meeting. It can take anywhere from 1 to 4 hours to review the information
(depending if you read the many department monthly reports that are included).
When there's a SB hearing (usually a liquor license or public utility), Mark
will review the information more closely and if there are questions he tries to
send them to the petitioner in advance of the meeting so they have the answers.
Mark decided some time ago that "got-ya" questioning doesn't work
well in town government. He also believes it's a waste of time when they
say "we'll have to get back to you on that" which just wastes
everyone's time. “I can't tell you how many times I have found an error in the
packet.”
Around budget time, the time he spends on reviewing the budget can be as much
as 6-8 hours in advance of the budget review meeting. As good as our Town
Manager is in the preparation, he believes that oversight is worthwhile and
wants to understand the budget as well as the Town Manager and our new CFO Ian
Cottington do. This same preparation goes for development of water and
sewer rates. With Paul Pasterczyk now retired, Mark probably understands what makes up those rates
better than anyone in town, and takes the time each year to closely review the
proposal. This secondary review is even more important now that Paul has
retired.
Mark has not added up all the meetings and times, but his best estimate is that
he spends 6-8 hours per week on town business, not including phone calls he
gets at home and being present at meetings that he has with the Town
Manager.
Being an effective Select Board member is more than committing two nights a month for meetings.
Mark has been a Select Board member since 2009 and has the longest continuous membership of anyone else since the mid-1980's having now spent 16 years as a Board member. While this is a salaried elected position at $2000/ year, Mark does it primarily as a give back to Longmeadow where he has lived with his wife Ellen for over 47 years. His two sons Daniel and Eric attended Longmeadow Public Schools.
Mark has made many significant contributions to the financial health and well-being of our town by being adequately prepared for the regular biweekly Select Board meeting and getting involved with the business of our town. His record of accomplishment sets a high standard for town residents seeking election to the Select Board. Here is a list of his Top 10 Accomplishments that he outlined when he ran for Select Board in 2022.
Thank you Mark for your commitment and many years of service to our town.
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Longmeadow Annual Town Elections will be held on Tuesday, June 3. There are four candidates vying for two open SB seats in this election: Mark Gold, Dan Zwirko, Maury Garrett, and Shelly Maynard-DeWolf.
With the exception of Dan Zwirko who decided not to participate, candidate Election Profiles can be found on the LongmeadowBuzz blog. Here are the links: Mark Gold, Dan Zwirko, Maury Garrett and Shelly Maynard-DeWolf.
Do
your homework by reading these profiles to become an informed voter and then go
to the Community House tomorrow, June 3 to vote for the best candidate.
Polls are open from 7 am - 8 pm.
Written (& Updated) by Jim Moran
