By Kim Siebert MacPhail
Six candidates for seats on a variety of town committees were interviewed by the Selectmen at their meeting on September 17 but only two appointments were made. In one case the need to interview all five applicants for three seats stood in the way of making appointments to for Cable Television Committee; in another, the desire to discuss whether the ad hoc Energy Task Force should continue or be disbanded created the delay.
Katherine Moskos was appointed to the Affordable Housing Committee for a term ending June 30th, 2015. Moskos has no experience with affordable housing but brings an interest to learn and a willingness to serve the town. She has worked in the past for Public Works but now is in in the process of obtaining a master’s degree in Public Policy. After Moskos’ appointment, two open seats remain on the Affordable Housing Committee: https://www.town.bedford.ma.us/index.php/committees/committees-a-b/affordable-housing-committee
Jacinda Barbehenn is the newest member of the Transportation Advisory Committee. Barbehenn has a master’s degree in economic geography and has worked on the Chicago Area Transportation Study. She has also served on the John Glenn Middle School’s advisory council. Following Barbehenn’s appointment, the Transportation Advisory Committee has one open seat remaining: https://www.town.bedford.ma.us/index.php/committees/committees-q-z/transportation-advisory
Thomas Judge, William Deen, and Jeff Whiteley are three of the five candidates currently interested in appointments to the Cable Television Committee. The other two, Scott Counsell and Alicia Tillman, were not able to attend this Selectmen’s meeting to be interviewed. There are three openings on this committee so all five candidates will not be appointed.
Because there are more candidates than seats, the Selectmen questioned Deen, Judge, and Whiteley in depth in an effort to make the best match of skills and experience with committee needs.
Thomas Judge is a Fire Captain for the Town of Concord and a past Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus. He became interested in serving on the Cable Television Committee when his daughter, a former Bedford High student, interned there. He has no industry experience but brings an interest in local government as well as a respect for the committee and how it oversees its duties.
Bill Deen is the current vice president of the Friends of Depot Park and a past volunteer coach for youth baseball and basketball. He is an engineering professor who has recently cut back to part-time and hopes to serve the town now that he has the time to do so. He has no industry experience but has been impressed with the degree of responsibility the Cable TV committee demonstrated and the care with which it furthers the Town’s interests during negotiations with Comcast and Verizon. He is familiar with contracts and proposals and with committee work that often necessitates reaching consensus in the decision-making process.
Jeff Whiteley worked in broadcast television for 15 years as well as for public access stations. He currently teaches television production for a vocational program at Waltham High School. Whiteley worked with Bedford TV some years ago and enjoyed the experience. He also served on the Massachusetts Access board of directors which supports public access stations in the Commonwealth.
Bill Moonan, Selectmen’s liaison to the Cable Television Committee, asked the potential appointees what they thought of the service that Bedford TV provides to the town.
Judge responded that he thinks there is a shortage of equipment to cover important events, pointing out that this was the reason the League of Women Voters’ Town Candidates Forum last spring was not recorded. He was grateful, as a parent, that Bedford TV covered the BHS hockey team’s run to the state tournament and thinks that the more coverage they can provide, the better. “The programming they do is really very good,” he added.
Whiteley looked at the level of volunteerism that supports Bedford TV and compared it favorably to Waltham, a city of 60,000. “I think they have more volunteers than Waltham, which says a lot for Bedford. They’re doing a good job, from what I’ve seen.”
Selectman Margot Fleischman thanked Judge, Deen, and Whiteley for their willingness to serve and asked, as the Selectmen’s liaison to the Volunteer Coordinating Committee, that they consider what other committee would suit their interests if they are not appointed to this one. The decision about which of the five to appoint will be made once the remaining two applicants, Tillman and Counsell, can be interviewed.
Robert Kalantari was interviewed for an opening on the Energy Task Force, an ad hoc committee. He is an electrical engineer, working in the nuclear energy industry. Kalantari made an unsuccessful bid last spring for an elected seat on the Board of Assessors but maintains his desire to serve the town.
Kalantari has attended several meetings of the Energy Task Force and believes that the group has value in helping the town reduce energy-related costs. “I think the committee has the right agenda….It’s a good committee and can help a lot to reduce town expenses.”
Chairman Cathy Cordes stated that she appreciated Kalantari’s interest but would like for the Selectmen to have the chance to decide whether or not the Energy Task Force should continue to function after achieving the goal of helping the town to become a Green Community, or if it should be disbanded to “morph into a citizen’s group and do education.”
Saying that the Energy Task Force is in something of a transition period, Margot Fleischman, liaison to the group, agreed with Cordes that it is time for an assessment. “I wonder what can be done further because even before we became a Green Community, the Facilities Director [Richard Jones] had already done a tremendous job in beginning the process of reducing the energy consumption for the Town buildings and schools. We’ve done automation and studies of the buildings to bring them all online.”
Fleischman continued saying that there might be a role for the Task Force in certain areas. The group might “vet ideas or seek out new ones that might not yet be explored.”
Cordes asked Town Manager Rick Reed to put the discussion of the future of the Energy Task Force on an upcoming meeting agenda so that the Selectmen can determine what to do. They will then let Kalantari know if he will be appointed to this committee or if he should seek an alternative appointment.
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