To the Editor:

Regarding the article “Planning Board member’s request perplexes Selectmen” that appeared online at www.SippicanVillageSoup.com. I met with Town Administrator Paul Dawson and was told that the Board of Selectmen had the authority to approve my proposed bylaw and definition of a formulaic business establishment for inclusion on the agenda/warrant at the Annual Town Meeting to be held in spring 2015. I am aware that it is the voters who must approve new bylaws or amendments.

Since, new Planning Board members are not given an orientation to the Planning Board or much of anything else for that matter ­– knowing proper procedures applicable specifically to Marion is basically a trial-by-fire operation. After consulting with the Town Administrator, the intent of submitting this proposed formulaic business bylaw was not to cause confusion among some members of the Board of Selectmen, but to move the process along in a very transparent and civil way.

Another point, I have never worked for any company, nor served on any board without first receiving an orientation together with an operations manual (guidebook) that could be accessed for future reference. But apparently no orientation is normal procedure on the Marion Planning Board.

As we all know, the purpose of an orientation is to explain procedures, roles and responsibilities that help new employees or new board members acclimate and transition quickly and smoothly to their new job.

Since, the Marion Planning Board offered no orientation and had no operations manual; I volunteered to write one. Everyone thought it was a noble idea. And, after much researching and writing, I asked to have the manual placed on the Town Website so residents could view the contents and follow the discussion of the Aug. 4, 2014 Planning Board meeting. One Planning Board member refused to have it posted to the website exclaiming there was no need for it, and people were not interested.

A heated dialogue concerning the guidebook ended in a motion to terminate all discussion. The same board member who quashed the idea of letting residents view the document online sneered, “This is not in our space.” Another senior board declared that official job descriptions have become “over the decades more or less self-evident.”

But, nowhere are these “more or less self-evident” official job descriptions recorded. A recent former member of the Planning Board emailed a scathing letter to the Planning Board chiding and challenging them to reject the guidebook. His letter is on file in the Planning Board office. Though this operational manual was rejected 2-5, professional writers and knowledgeable policy makers praised the manual’s thoroughness and completeness.

As a new member to the Planning Board, I had asked for an organizational chart showing graphically the relation of one official or department to another—no organizational chart exists.

More transparency is needed, so, those new board members can successfully negotiate “more or less self-evident” procedures that are specific to Marion’s boards and committees.

Respectfully,

Eileen Marum

Planning Board Member