NEWBURY — Jennifer Wright is looking for volunteers.
The first-term selectman is asking that people interested in serving on five local boards — three established committees and two new ones — contact the selectmen's office at Town Hall.
While she hasn't voiced any dissatisfaction with the job that current members are doing, Wright said she wants to give others a chance to serve the town.
The established boards are the Conservation Commission, the Recreation Committee and the Eight Towns and the Bay Committee.
There is also a new committee, authorized by Town Meeting but not yet set up, that would examine the conditions of cemeteries and make recommendations for their improvement and maintenance. The town is also interested in forming a technology committee that, among other things, would maintain and update Newbury's Web site, www.townofnewbury.org.
Wright is asking residents interested in serving on one of the established committees to contact the selectmen's office as soon as possible. The selectmen usually make the appointments effective at the start of the new fiscal year, which is July 1.
The Conservation Commission has jurisdiction over wetlands issues. It regulates conditions under which development can take place in or near wetlands.
The Recreation Committee plans and organizes recreational activities, mainly for children.
Eight Towns and the Bay is the northern branch of the Massachusetts Bays program, and works with Amesbury, Salisbury, Rowley, Newbury, Newburyport, Ipswich, Gloucester and Rockport to manage and protect local coastal resources.
The cemetery committee was established by a vote of the May 27 Town Meeting on an article placed on the warrant by Dick Cunningham and 10 other residents. The article calls for the selectmen to appoint a committee — no number of members is specified — "to investigate conditions of some of the cemeteries in town," which need maintenance and whose ownership is uncertain.
"This committee shall meet, investigate, try to find answers as to a long-range plan of the town with regard to such cemeteries and report back at a future Town Meeting with their recommendations," the article says.
For a technology committee, Wright said, "we need someone in the community with a technology background who can help us maintain our Web site."
Interested residents may contact the selectmen's administrative assistant, Kathleen Sirois, at 978-465-9241 or selectmen@townofnewbury.org. There is a one-page letter-of-interest form on the last page of the annual town report that candidates may fill out.
Wright said she is also interested in obtaining as many residents' e-mail addresses as possible to set up a list for public notices. Wright can be reached at jenwright.townofnewbury@verizon.net.
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