After asking the Cortez Historic Preservation Board last month to find her a replacement by next year, chairwoman Linda Towle has already found one.
During the monthly meeting on Dec. 7, board member Dale Davidson offered to take Towle’s place as chairman on the condition that she stay on the board as its vice chairwoman – a position that is not currently filled. The board unanimously agreed to the proposal, and Davidson will officially begin to act as chairman on Jan. 1. Towle has served as chairwoman for about eight years, and has been asking to step down because the volunteer position is taking up too much of her time.
Davidson, who did not attend the meeting in which Towle spoke about stepping down, said it’s too soon for her to leave the board completely. She is the driving force behind many of its current projects, including the effort to make Montezuma Avenue a historical district.
“(There’s no) way, shape or form that I or anybody else can replace Linda’s energy, enthusiasm and, as I heard her described the other day, ‘bulldoggishness,’” Davidson said.
But he acknowledged that Towle has too much on her plate right now, and giving some of her duties to someone else would free her up to focus more on the projects that are “near and dear to her heart.”
Towle had said she was willing to stay on as chairwoman for one more year, but at the Dec. 7 meeting she voiced her full support for Davidson’s proposal.
“I do want to continue on the board,” she said. “I just don’t want to be in charge anymore.”
Danny Giannone, the only board member who voted against Towle’s re-election at the last meeting, said he was glad she had found a solution to the overly-long work hours. The rest of the board agreed.
“This is more of a ‘thank you’ to Linda, for all she’s done for all these years, than anything else,” Davidson said.
Since board members’ terms expire in January, Towle and Davidson will officially be elected to their new positions next month.
