Saugus selectmen not in tune with nominee appointing process

SAUGUS-The Board of Selectmen have named several citizens to several different boards but was not in sync on any of the nominations.Each name put forth for a particular seat was faced with a substitute motion seeking to appoint a different person. Clerk Wendy Reed said she has never seen that many substitutions in one night in quite some time.It started when Selectman Stephen Horlick made a motion to appoint longtime Zoning Board of Appeals member Bob Cox as an alternate to the board, but was shot down when colleague Peter Rossetti made a substitute motion. Rossetti offered up Keith Littlefield as an alternate and the board voted 4-1 in his favor.Horlick tried a second time later in the meeting to get Cox, who served on the Appeals Board for two decades, on as an alternate, but failed again. A motion was made to appoint Anthony Tierno as an alternate on the Appeals Board and Horlick offered a substitute motion pointing out Cox’s experience and savvy, but it failed 4-1.Selectman Michael Kelleher said the fact that Cox was not reappointed should not reflect on the work he’d done over the years.”He did a wonderful job . . . nothing should overshadow the work he’s done,” he said.Horlick then made a motion to appoint Mark Garniss to the board, but his colleagues opted to go with Steven Castinetti’s recommendation and appointed Paul Cook instead.Castinetti also offered up Joanne Vannah as a Library Trustee appointee and, while Horlick tried to substitute Arthur Grabowski’s name, that too failed 4-1.Castinetti said the only reason he voted the way he did was because he wants to see new faces serving on the boards.”My feeling is it’s time for some new blood on all the committees in this town,” he said. “We need new ideas, new faces and a new dynamic.”Both Cas-tinetti and Kell-eher said they were glad to see so many residents seek app-ointments. Earlier this year it took three advertisements to get residents interested in filling out other committees.”What’s heartening is we had plenty of people apply,” Kelleher said. “Obviously the board was not totally in sync””There were a lot of interviews,” Castinetti agreed. “I just want to give (new) people an opportunity to serve.”