The Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council voted to remove three members—Martha Rodriguez, Erin Colgan-Snyder and Michael O’Connor—during its monthly meeting on Oct. 27.
JPNC’s rules state that members can be removed for “good cause shown,” which can include but is not limited to failure to attend three consecutive regularly scheduled council meetings, persistent non-participation in committee work, or absence from more than five regularly scheduled council meetings in the prior twelve months. The three members removed were not in attendance at the Oct. 27 meeting.
The council also discussed the potential removal of Gerard O’Connor, who was at the Oct. 27 meeting and was given the opportunity to present a case as to why he should be allowed to remain an active member. O’Connor cited conflicts on Tuesday evenings and said that he had “no desire to be removed” and apologized “for any inconvenience and problems that [his absence] contributed to.”
The council voted to keep Gerard O’Connor on board.
The meeting also covered the following topics:
- Cigarette butt recycling: Michael Reiskind cited 38 percent of all street trash is cigarette butts, and there have been motions to introduce cigarette butt recycling in order to keep them out of storm sewers and mulch and to reduce litter. The program would be modeled by a similar one in Portland, Maine and sponsored by restaurants and bars and co-sponsored by local environmental groups.
- New Grass Fed: The owner of Grass Fed on Centre Street has applied to open a second location at 3698 Washington St. There was some concern from the members about that since the existing location does not offer bathrooms to their patrons.
People who are interested in the available seats on the JPNC can contact Kevin Moloney, chair of the council, at 617-522-3988 or [email protected] or they can come to the next JPNC meeting, which will be held on Nov. 24 at 7 p.m. at 90 South Street. There is one vacancy in Area A, one vacancy in Area B and one vacancy in Area C. The area map is available at jpnc.org/jpnc-map.