METHUEN — The newly elected Charter Commission unanimously chose Joseph Pappalardo as its chairman and Dorothy Kalil as its vice chairwoman this week.
The charter is essentially Methuen's constitution — it dictates how the municipal government operates. The nine-member commission, which voters elected on Nov. 3 to review the 34-page document and suggest changes that would then need to be approved by voters, met in the second-floor conference room at City Hall on Tuesday night to organize.
Kalil nominated Pappalardo to be chairman because he "really is responsible for the success of the petition drive" that resulted in the ballot question, which led to the formation of the group.
Commissioner Pat Uliano nominated Kalil for vice chairwoman and Commissioner Maureen Donovan seconded, while Commissioner Robert Vogler nominated Commissioner Dennis DiZoglio for vice chairman and Commissioner Barbara Grondine seconded.
DiZoglio said he didn't want the job, so the vote to select Kalil was unanimous. Commissioners also unanimously voted Kenneth Bourassa as clerk and to hold a public hearing in the Great Hall in City Hall on Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. for public input about the charter.
The group plans to start meeting monthly and to review the charter line by line. It has a $5,000 budget.
DiZoglio suggested asking Mayor William Manzi for the ability to receive "supplemental assistance" from an outside lawyer in the event that the commission needs legal advice because City Solicitor Peter McQuillan has an enormous workload.
"We'll go through $5,000 in a couple days," Jeanne Pappalardo, a city councilor and the wife of Joseph Pappalardo, later quipped at the meeting.
DiZoglio also said the group should ask for "clerical support" for things like typing minutes, and he suggested establishing e-mail and regular mailing addresses for the public to send comments.
Jeanne Pappalardo suggested having the City Council clerks, who are city employees, type the minutes.
Commissioners talked about meeting with various groups, such as parents and senior citizens, to explain the charter.
Gerry McCall, a failed candidate for the commission, attended the meeting and suggested printing the charter in Spanish to accommodate the city's Hispanic population.
"No," said Kalil and Donovan.
"We don't have a ton of money," Kalil said. "This is an English-speaking country. They need to learn English."
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Charter Commission members
Joseph Pappalardo
Dennis DiZoglio
Robert Vogler
Barbara Grondine
Pat Uliano
Maureen Donovan
Dorothy Kalil
Kenneth Bourassa
John Cronin Jr.
