Stratford Zoning Commission elects Watson as chair, Petrucelli as vice chair at organizational meeting

The Stratford Zoning Commission held its annual organizational meeting on Jan. 10, 2024. Commissioners elected a member recorded in the meeting as "Watson" to serve as chair for 2024 and elected a member recorded as "Petrucelli" as vice chair. Jay Abanski, the commission's planning and zoning administrator, opened the meeting and led the organizational votes.

The vote on the first nominee, identified in the record as Commissioner Watson, took place by roll call. The transcript records these responses: Commissioner Joseph — "Yay"; Commissioner Petrucelli — "Nay"; Commissioner Manos — "Yes"; Commissioner Watson — "Yay"; Commissioner Lamberti — "Pass." The presiding officer announced the motion carried and congratulated Chairman Watson. The record also contains inconsistent references to first names for the commissioner elected chair (see note below).

Chairman Watson then opened nominations for vice chair. A nomination for Petrucelli (the transcript shows variations of the given name and spelling) was made and seconded. The commission closed nominations and the record shows the result described by the chair as "4 to 1" in favor; the commission congratulated the new vice chair.

Jay Abanski briefed commissioners on near-term staff work and scheduling. He said staff will distribute staff comments and prepare meeting packets approximately a week ahead of the next meeting, which the record identifies as Jan. 24, 2024, because the agenda will be heavy. Abanski told commissioners, "I will send out as much of my staff comments this week for you all to review early," and encouraged them to contact staff with questions in advance.

Chairman Watson described priorities for the year, saying the commission will take "a closer look at the planned Stratford" and that rewriting the zoning regulations is the biggest task for the term. Watson also noted the commission's alternate, Dave Fuller, brings prior experience as a zoning chairman and will help with knowledge of past items.

The meeting ended after a motion to adjourn; the chair called for the motion and the record records a unanimous voice vote. The commission scheduled its next regular meeting for Jan. 24, 2024 and adjourned.

Note on transcript inconsistencies: The meeting record contains inconsistent personal-name references for multiple participants. The transcript records a nomination for "Ewald Watson" and later refers to "commissioner Harold Watson," and separately includes a self-introduction from a speaker who said "My name is Ewald Joseph." The record also contains multiple spellings of Petrucelli ("Lehi Petrucelli," "Lynn Petrcelli," and similar variations). This article reports votes and outcomes as recorded; the commission's official minutes should be consulted for authoritative, spelled and verified names and final vote tallies.