← Boards & Commissions Committee · 2026-01-20 · Boards & Commissions Committee Meeting 1/20/26
Appointment of Diane Casey, 60 Cochrane Street, to the Liquor Licensing Commission to complete the six-year term of Kevin Cronin who has resigned; said term to expire on the first Monday in June 2029.
Agenda original PDF
Minutes original PDF
A. (ID # 2026-1): Appointment of Diane Casey, 60 Cochrane Street, to the Liquor Licensing Commission to complete the six-year term of Kevin Cronin who has resigned; said term to expire on the first Monday in June 2029. Motion to Recommend to full council made by Councilor Finocchiaro Seconded by Councilor Kowal All were in favor and motion passed. RESULTS: ACCEPTED [UNANIMOUS] TO: City Council AYES: Cal Finocchiaro, Elizabeth Kowal, Christopher Park, Kim Vandiver, Ryan Williams, Bradley Freeman NAYS: None
Transcript
▶ 1:10 Ryan Williams: Okay. Public comment is closed. We have three appointments before us tonight. We will start with ID number 2026 dash one, the appointment of Diane Casey of 60 Cochrane Street to the Liquor Licensing Commission to complete the six year term of Kevin Cronin, who has resigned. This term will expire on the first Monday in June, 2029. And we're joined by Mayor Greg and the appointee as well.
▶ 1:32 Jen Grigoraitis: Good evening, Mr. Chair and counselors. Thank you for having us tonight. Um, so I'm here with Diane Casey as an appointment to the Liquor Licensing Commission. Just by way of a little bit of background, that commission is heavily regulated by state law, which does require us to have three commissioners, one of whom needs to be a registered Republican, one of whom needs to be a registered Democrat, and one of whom I believe needs to be unenrolled. So, Ms. Casey is going to be filling the role of the registered Republican. Um, so just so that you understand that background, um, I've known Diane personally through her involvement in stuff in the city, and I'm thrilled that she's willing to step into this role. She brings a master's, um, in business administration as well as a substantial background in finance and, um, systems technology, which is obviously important since dealing with liquor licensing at the state and local level involves a lot of regulatory, um, and systems management. So she would also be the first female, um, commissioner in quite some time. So we'd be bringing a little bit more gender parity to that commission. And obviously they play a big role in setting local regulations here. So I'm really thrilled that her willingness to serve, and I'm happy to have her here tonight.
▶ 2:37 Ryan Williams: Thank you so much for that introduction. Are there any questions from counselors? Councilor? No. Chiro.
▶ 2:41 Cal Finocchiaro: Yes. Thank you. And, um, I personally know Diane, but I, um, am excited to see her step up into this role and yay for the first lady in the commission. Um, long overdue. Um, so, but I just wanna say thank you for, you know, giving your time and your volunteer for this position.
▶ 2:59 Speaker 2: Thank you so much. And when Mayor Jen mentioned it, you know, I'm excited to get back, do more volunteer work now that my kids are getting older, so I'm thrilled.
▶ 3:08 Cal Finocchiaro: Excellent. The opportunity. Um, I guess I also just make a motion for to recommend
▶ 3:14 Ryan Williams: Second motion on the floor from Councilor for Nochi to recommend to the full board seconded by Councillor Kowal, um, on discussion.
▶ 3:22 Kimberly Vandiver: Sure. Thank you. Uh, I was just wondering if you could say a few words about why this commission, why, why you're interested in, in serving in this way. And, and again, to echo the others, thank you as well for stepping up.
▶ 3:32 Speaker 2: Okay. Yeah, absolutely. So, um, my husband and I moved to Melrose 24 years ago, um, well, almost 24 years ago. We've raised three kids here. They've all gone through Melrose schools. So our youngest is a senior, so kind of have a little more time available and wanted to get into volunteer work. And when Mayor Jen mentioned, it just seems like a great fit. Um, you know, I love Melrose and just wanna see it grow and, um, you know, prosper in the future in a safe way.
▶ 3:57 Kimberly Vandiver: Thank you so much for, for helping us make Melrose even better. Thank
▶ 4:02 Speaker 3: You. Thank you.
▶ 4:04 Speaker 1: Okay, we have a motion, uh, and a second. Um, all in favor?
▶ 4:08 Ryan Williams: Aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? No one opposed that motion passes and you don't need to be present for the full council meeting, uh, when this comes up again. Thank you. Thank you very much for coming.