SWAMPSCOTT — The vacant seat on the Housing Authority Board is still up in the air, four weeks after the board chose to appoint local developer Charles Patsios and two weeks after the Select Board chose not to confirm that appointment.
On Tuesday night, Select Board member David Grishman attended the Swampscott Housing Authority (SHA) virtual meeting and confirmed that the Select Board did not come to an agreement on Feb. 2.
“I would like to fill your seat, but the vote was split two to two,” said Grishman. “It is the position of the Select Board that the process (of selection) was not followed.”
At the Select Board meeting on Feb. 2, two members — Grishman and Peter Spellios — explained that they wanted the vacancy to be filled until the town-wide election in April, while the other two — Chair Polly Titcomb and Vice Chair Neal Duffy — did not want to accept Patsios’ nomination and would rather have him run for the seat in April.
Although the Select Board ultimately resolved to hold a special meeting on the issue and vote on who it wants to appoint as the interim board member for SHA, a meeting never took place.
Grishman said that none of the proposed dates for a meeting worked for the quorum on the Select Board, and they are not going to take any further action.
According to SHA Executive Director Irma Chez, there was no communication between the Select Board and the SHA board in the last two weeks.
“It is ridiculous to do this back and forth,” said Richard Callahan, chair of the SHA board.
Callahan said that the former SHA director told him that in previous years, the SHA board would nominate a person and the Select Board would vote on the candidacy.
“I don’t know what process there is out there other than that,” Callahan said.
Last week, the SHA had to cancel its meeting because one of the four current members was sick and another one was not able to attend. Thus, the meeting didn’t have a quorum.
“This is the problem that the Select Board has not moved to do anything about this,” said Catherine Esteverena, member of the SHA board. “By her own admission, Polly (Titcomb) had not even reviewed resumes that you received for the position as of your last meeting.”
Callahan said he will ask the town clerk to appoint Patsios until April. However, another SHA board member, Tara Cassidy-Driscoll, said that the board would need to consult the Massachusetts General Law about who has the final authority to appoint a person to fill the vacant seat until the elections.
The SHA board voted to appoint Patsios as the interim board member separately on Jan. 18.
Patsios, 62, is a real-estate developer and has lived in Swampscott for almost 32 years. He was able to secure an endorsement from the Swampscott Senior Tenants Association (SSTA) for this interim position.
The Select Board is also suggesting that the SHA board hold its meetings at the high school, in order to make them more publicly accessible and broadcastable to a larger audience. The concern is, Grishman said, that SHA has not been recording all of its meetings and that the ramp at the SHA office is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The Housing Authority responded that they always submit their meeting agendas well in advance to the town clerk and about 30 percent of its residents do not have cars to get to the high school.
