Two new members were appointed to the Chelsea Planning Commission Monday night, Dec. 15, by a unanimous vote.
Mayor Jason Lindauer recommended Robert Dean and Steve Parker to fill two of the three open positions on the commission and both are relative newcomers to Chelsea.
Dean said he’s lived in the Chelsea Fairways subdivision for less than a year but he grew up downriver. An employee of Johnson Controls, he said he moved from Chicago to Chelsea and “wanted to give back” so he reached out to the mayor when he learned about the openings.
Dean’s appointment expires in June 2017.
Parker said he moved to Chelsea about two years ago and has a background in real estate and finance. He said he works for Citibank in financial sales. His term ends in June 2016.
There is still another opening on the Planning Commission and Council Member Jane Pacheco said she’d like the mayor to find an urban planner to fill that spot.
In addition, Kathy Finger, the current secretary of the Downtown Development Authority, was unanimously reappointed for a second term on the authority.
Lindauer said that she’d done “an outstanding job in her first term.”
Pacheco requested that when he recommends a reappointment to a board that he provide the City Council more information about the candidate.
As per the City Charter, the mayor makes recommendations for appointments to boards and commissions and the City Council votes on those recommendations.
“We seek qualified people for openings,” he said, “but it’s not an exact science.”
Chelsea Update recently ran a story seeking interested residents to apply for these openings.
