Council to consider Dimes appointment to Planning Board

By Joseph Domelowicz Jr.

According to several sources Town Council President Thomas Reilly on Tuesday night, is planning to nominate Planning Board Chairman Richard Dimes to the Planning Board for the second year in a row, potentially setting up a showdown over Reilly’s power to nominate committee members and the council’s discretion to approve the nominations.

Last year, Reilly nominated Dimes and Planning Board member Peter Roache to fill two seats on the board, whose terms were expiring. The Council voted to approve the nomination of Roache, but voted 6-3 against Dimes, with some councilors suggesting it was time for change on the board. Roache was a new member to the Planning Board, having only taken office to fill the end of an expiring terms some months before.

However, since the new town charter allowed for previously elected officials to continue in their capacities until replaced, Reilly refused to nominate another candidate for Dimes’ seat on the board — despite the fact that another candidate had applied to fill the seat — and Dimes has remained on the Planning Board since.

Publicly, there has been no word on whether or not any councilors have changed their minds about allowing Dimes to serve going forward. And several councilors have said that Reilly has not polled the council to find out if there is support for Dimes this time either.