Fairhaven moves toward background checks for board volunteers after an offender is found on two committees

FAIRHAVEN Fairhaven's Select Board has started work on criminal record checks for town board volunteers after a resident told the board that a man on the state's sex offender registry had been serving on two town committees, the Fairhaven Neighborhood News reported.

The board voted unanimously Monday night, with member Andrew Saunders absent, to have Town Administrator Keith Hickey draft a policy for Criminal Offender Record Information checks, known as CORI checks, on candidates applying or reapplying for appointed boards. The board plans to discuss the draft at its next regular meeting, the Neighborhood News reported.

What led to the vote

The issue came up after resident Jennifer Cardoza told the board that a registered sex offender was on two town boards, the newspaper reported Wednesday night. The newspaper reported that the man had served on the Livable Streets and Sustainability committees for five years on yearly appointments, and that the board had reappointed him to both in October.

The board did not name him at the meeting, and South Coast 360 is not naming him. The Neighborhood News reported that he is listed on the state's public registry as a Level 2 offender, with convictions in 2011 and 2012 for sex offenses against children. Hickey contacted him once the town was alerted and gave him a choice of resigning or facing a Select Board hearing on his removal, the newspaper reported, and he chose to resign.

"How does something like this happen," member Richard Trapilo, who voted for the October reappointment, said at the meeting, according to the newspaper. "That's what we're talking about," Chair Andrew Romano said, the newspaper reported.

How the checks would work

All four members present agreed that asking for a CORI check was not unreasonable, and Hickey said the checks cost the town nothing, the Neighborhood News reported. Part of the discussion turned on what the board would do if a check turned something up, the newspaper reported.

Vice Chair Natalie Mello said she was "equally appalled" but wondered whether a check of every applicant was "too broad of a brush," the newspaper reported. Clerk Pamela Kuechler said her own workplace checks everyone and that a record there is not an automatic denial, because her employer follows guidelines that weigh how long ago an offense happened and what kind it was, according to the newspaper.

Board members considered holding every appointment until Dec. 14 so a policy could be in place first, the newspaper reported, but went ahead with several of Monday's appointments because some appeared pressing. Each person appointed Monday agreed to a CORI check and to be available at the board's Nov. 23 meeting if anything turns up, the newspaper reported.

Who was appointed

The board named Keith Silvia to the Bell Committee on a 3-1 vote, with Mello voting no, and also to the Economic Development Committee after its chair, Cathy Melanson, told members she has struggled to reach a quorum, the Neighborhood News reported. Karyn Ferreira was appointed to the Conservation Commission and Aaron Novy to the Millicent Library Board of Trustees, according to the newspaper.

The board also set guidelines for waivers under a new bylaw that lets a resident serve on a third appointed board only if the Select Board votes to allow it for that person, the newspaper reported. Under the guidelines as the newspaper described them, the board may weigh whether a board struggles to find volunteers or reach a quorum, whether the applicant brings unique experience, whether the extra seat creates a scheduling conflict and whether other applicants are available.

What happens next

The Select Board meets next on Monday, Nov. 23. South Coast 360 asked Hickey when the draft policy will come before the board, how the checks will be handled and whether the town will review current appointees, and asked Romano for comment. We will add their answers when they respond.

Read our earlier story on the Nov. 9 meeting, including the fire chief search and the town counsel contract.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.