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Two city seats up for grabs
P & Z, Historic Commission seeking two new members

Two seats are currently available for two seperate commissions in Williams.

Two seats are currently available for two seperate commissions in Williams.

Two seats are currently available for two separate commissions within the city of Williams. One seat is for membership in the Williams Planning and Zoning Commission. The other seat is for the Williams Historic Commission. Both commissions meet once a month, as compared to Williams City Council meetings, which are held on the second and fourth Thursday each month.

Oscar and Amy Frederickson, owners of the Grand Canyon Hotel on Route 66, both held the positions.

"Currently available is the (Williams) Historic Preservation Commission seat, vacated by Amy Frederickson," said interim City Clerk Harry Holmes. "The other one will be vacant by the end of the year - sooner if council decides to appoint someone. Oscar Fredrickson would resign immediately."

Oscar Frederickson served on the Williams Planning and Zoning Commission for nearly two years.

"When I took on the job, I felt it would only be for a couple of years, and I never felt it was a permanent position. I think it's time to have fresh ideas and a new person in there. So it was time for me to move on and I enjoyed it," Frederickson said.

Holmes explained some of the duties of the Williams Historic Preservation Commission.

"What they do is, basically, review plans for anything that will alter the exterior of a building within the historic overlay district, which may or may not be a building that's on the national register, but it's within that overlay district," Holmes said. "They have the

authority to review any changes to the exterior and approve or disapprove."

Members of the Historic Preservation Commission serve a three-year "staggered" term of office, according to the Williams Code, article 12-17-03, and are expected to meet at least four times throughout the year. The Historic Preservation Commission is also assigned the task of creating a written annual report at the end of each year that details their activities, according to the code. The report is then made available to both the mayor and city council and for public viewing.

Members of the Williams Planning and Zoning Commission listen and decide on a number of building and construction related matters, including subdivisions, permits, zoning ordinances, site plans and development procedures - among other matters. Decisions made by the commissions go before members of the Williams City Council for final approval. Holmes added that interested parties may have a better chance of getting one of the two vacant seats if they live within the city limits.

"The feeling from council right now is that it should be a resident," Holmes said. "Right now there are people on various commissions who are not residents, who have business ties to the community. They work here and they have business here, they just don't happen to live in the city limits. At this point I would recommend they contact a council member or just something to the city clerk and we'll get it to council. A letter and a resume would be good - anything to show what their background is. Council would hopefully have a plethora of candidates from which to choose."

Members of the Williams Planning and Zoning Commission currently meet on the third Thursday of each month at city hall. Meetings begin at 7 p.m. and typically last one to two hours. The Williams Historic Preservation Commission typically meets Tuesday afternoon, the second Tuesday of each month, at 1 p.m. Neither seats are paid positions with the city of Williams.

"They need to have an interest in the subject of historic preservation, some knowledge to bring to the table. Hopefully, with seven members on the commission, we would have a variety of backgrounds, knowledge, that would compliment one another on building practices, construction, similarly a background on history," Holmes said. "For instance, Gary McCarthy, the writer of western novels, has some kind of a background in western history. Gary McCarthy is a member of the historic commission. That's an example of someone who has a remote interest or remote connection to the field of historic preservation in a town like this, with its ties to the old west. Someone with a background in architecture, in landscape, construction, any of those fields will bring something to the mix."


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