ORDER-2022-12 : Appointment of Chris Redfern. 2 Spear St., to the Conservation Commission; said term to expire on the last day of February 2024.

Transcript (~8 min @ 2:20)

Speakers identified by voice; unnamed voices are numbered within this recording. Auto-caption text — verify against the video.

▶ 2:23 Speaker 1: at this time i do not see anyone right at this time at this time with the unanimous consent i to close public comment we have one on the agenda it's order 2022-12 it's the appointment of chris redfern of two spear street to the conservation commission said term to expire on the last day of february 2024 and i'm moved to suspend the rules so we can hear from uh the administration uh in mr redfern himself uh seeing no objections unanimous consent that the rules are now suspended is mr redford with us mr clerk yes he is he's been unmuted mr

▶ 3:19 Speaker 1: good evening thank you for having me tonight oh you're very welcome to me we want to thank you for coming before us uh and also to uh thank you for your um commitment to the city uh would you like to say a few words before i open it up for discussion amongst the committee members sure

▶ 3:38 Speaker 3: i am um very excited to be able to join the conservation commission i have a fairly long history in the conservation profession being the executive director of san diego audubon for almost 15 years doing a lot of wetland restoration projects and advocacy i understand the um that the commission is charged with looking at wetland-based issues and also other work related to the conservation lands in melrose i'm very interested in ways in which i can be involved and help make a difference to preserve and protect those lands as well as the more

▶ 4:23 Speaker 1: regulatory aspects of the committee's work right well i thank you for that introduction i i note that you are presently the executive director of the friends of the middlesex fells reservation

▶ 4:35 Speaker 1: yes that's correct and um and how long have you been in that position and uh what um what have uh the friends of the fells uh been up to these days um i've been in that position for just about two

▶ 4:44 Speaker 3: years and um we are in the middle of a growth phase right now we're adding some staff um and we're expanding our work around certain urgent conservation issues in the fowls related to invasive species and rogue trails and just general a user enhancing the

▶ 5:13 Speaker 1: visitor experience of the fowls generally that's great and uh congratulations on that appointment I see we presently have the Honorable Mayor Paul Brodeur with us this evening and would like to say a few words about Mr. Redfern and introduce him as well.

▶ 5:28 Paul Brodeur: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity. It is good to see everyone. I know that you've had a chance to review Mr. Redfern's resume, but it bears repeating for the public that really immediately upon his arrival in Melrose, he became involved with the Friends of the Fells in a capacity where many of the activities he would be in a kind of a regulatory position to oversee or be part of that debate are things he's directly working on in a professional capacity. And you'll note that prior to him coming to the East Coast, he had a mayoral appointment on the West Coast involved in land use and development and conservation. He has a long service with California Audubon, in particular, the San Diego chapter of that organization. and you know there was then when he advised a park and rec board in the mission bay area these are things that certainly when this position became open and knowing that the legacy of the friends of the fells and how mr redfern is working to expand that mission he seemed like a terrific choice i would interestingly note even though it is not directly germane to his role as a conservation commission member. So he does have a fairly impressive record of fundraising for projects in this area, and I wouldn't want to certainly put that on him. They are separate and distinct roles. Knowing how budgeting and finance works in terms of some of the work that is done in the world of conservation, I think is a bit of a new dimension that we'll add to the commission and i hope you will act on his nomination favor favorably and

▶ 7:34 John N. Tramontozzi: i appreciate the opportunity to address you all thank you mr mayor appreciate the uh that um do we have any questions from any of the committee members uh counselor thomas thank you mr chairman

▶ 7:48 Cory Thomas: uh mr redfern welcome mr mayor welcome um mr redfern um your years of experience speak for themselves um you've lived in some great interesting places in illinois and colorado and san diego hopefully you've brought some of that san diego weather to melrose and especially ward seven um we have a great history of volunteerism in ward seven uh welcome to ward seven um if um

▶ 8:18 Cory Thomas: if you if you bring the san diego weather we'll be very happy um but if you want questions i'd

▶ 8:24 Speaker 1: like to recommend for passage are there any further uh questions i've seen them we we do have a motion to recommend by uh counselor thomas and there was a second i believe it was council Garipay and on the motion all in favor all right i apologize i think yeah we're not in person

▶ 9:00 Speaker 2: mr clerk can you call the roll chair german tozy yes vice chair mcmaster yes councillor Jamaleddine

▶ 9:12 Speaker 2: yes councillor Garipay yes councillor thomas yes president sanella yes six yes yes great thank you

▶ 9:19 Speaker 1: so at this point uh there is a uh vote to recommend uh mr redfern your uh your appointment uh to the conservation commission this will uh be uh presented at the full board uh for a final vote uh you you do not have to attend and uh that may be later on this evening but uh congratulations

▶ 9:43 Speaker 3: thank you mr redfern thank you so much it was very nice to meet you all same here and we look

▶ 9:46 Speaker 1: forward to uh seeing you um uh at uh later times uh with that in mind that's the only thing we have on the agenda and i'll uh see that uh is there a motion to adjourn make a motion to adjourn