A new year means starting fresh.

And this is what the Selectmen intend to do with the Marine Advisory Board selection process after a 2008 letter of intent to join the Advisory Board still hasn’t touched the Selectmen’s hands.

The applicant, Walter Reid, has somehow been serving on the Board for six months—which shouldn’t be possible, given that Selectmen are the only ones who appoint Marine Advisory Board members.

The mix-up came to light recently after two vacancies were posted. Residents Ed Van Keuren and Bill Hubbard sent in their letters of intent and were to be appointed by the Selectmen at Tuesday night’s meeting.

But the Marine Advisory Board said it had an additional applicant as well: Geoff Cowles.

Then the Selectmen discovered Reid’s not-quite-official membership and had to decide: Whom do we pick?

Chairman Paul Silva said an overhaul of how members are selected, along with the Marine Advisory Board’s outdated rules and regulation, needed to happen.

Currently, applicants must submit a letter of intent and be interviewed by the Selectmen before being appointed to the Board. Interviews are done on a “first come, first serve” basis.

Silva suggested future applicants be lumped together and interviewed based on experience and skill, not just who applied first.

Selectman Jordan Collyer agreed with Silva.

“I have no idea how we got here,” he said. “There’s been confusion in the past. To have a member operate without appointment is an issue.”

The Selectmen decided to interview Reid as well as the three other applicants again before deciding who should get the position.