Marblehead conservation board adds 3 new members

MARBLEHEAD – Selectmen have appointed three new members to the Conservation Commission and a fourth may be needed before winter is over.Board members interviewed Brian LeClair, a lawyer and former Cambridge Civic Association president, on Jan. 9.On Jan. 23 they interviewed four more candidates: Ken Fischer, principal of an architectural firm, health care professional Deb Payson, who has advised various government figures on environmental issues, small business owner Jacqueline Rosenthal and Massachusetts Recycling Committee member Don Tritschler.All the names were placed in nomination after the interviews and on the first poll Fischer received three votes, winning him the longest tenure of the three vacancies, a term that expires in 2010.Payson received two votes on the first poll and on the second she was unanimously named to a seat that expires in 2009.LeClair received four votes on the third poll and won the seat that expires this spring.Conservation Commission members are appointed by the selectmen.LeClair and Marblehead native Mark Brings, a contractor, originally applied for seats on the Planning Board and were asked to consider applying for seats on the Conservation Commission.After the voting concluded, Town Administrator Tony Sasso told the selectmen that another commission member has said they were ready to step down after the hearing on the clean-up of the former Chadwick Lead Mills site concluded. That hearing ended last week.Selectmen also appointed Donald Gardner, a Marblehead native with a longtime interest in historic preservation, to the Historical Commission.