Field of 9 applicants vie for 2 P&Z vacancies

Applicants’ info released by city

All 3 districts represented

5 men and 4 women comprise slate

Updated July 29, 2021, at 5:25AM — Adds reference to CLURO for clarity relating to selection process and length of terms.

MANDEVILLE — The City Council will have a field of nine applicants to consider when filling two vacant Planning & Zoning Commission seats at the August 12, 2021, council meeting.

Five men and four women, representing each of the three city districts, have submitted their resumes for consideration to fill the slots being vacated by Ren Clark and Jeffrey Lahasky. Clark’s term expires in August and Lahasky moved outside city limits.

A vote to fill one of the vacancies was delayed on July 22nd, with the stated reason being to allow District III Councilwoman Jill McGuire, who missed that meeting due to a medical procedure, to be on-hand for the appointment. Now, both vacancies will be considered at the August 12th meeting.

A question was raised during the July 22nd meeting over the availability of the list of applicants for public inspection (required by state law) and that they were not available before a vote would have taken place.

The Planning and Zoning Commission appointment provisions are outlined under the Comprehensive Land Use Regulations Ordinance (CLURO) Sec. 2.1.2: “All successive appointments to the Planning Commission (includes Zoning Commission) shall be appointed by a majority vote of the City Council. No person shall be appointed to the Planning Commission until a public hearing before the City Council attended by the nominee has been held.”

City Attorney Elizabeth Sconzert said at the meeting that members of the public would need to file a public records request to receive the list because the resumes needed to go through the city’s legal department to allow information not required by law to be released to be redacted.

Mandeville Daily filed a public records request with the city and received the redacted information.

Here is a summary of the nine applicants, with their redacted resumes and cover letters available at the end of the story.

Michael R. Gagliardi, 73, District I

His resume says he has business management experience with a degree in economics and business marketing with food service management training. He is currently listed as the general manager of a local hardware store. His is listed as having a B.A. in economics and business marketing.

Christian H. Jones, 40, District I

His resume says he is an architectural designer and general contractor with over 20 years of experience, who owns his own design and construction firm. He is listed as having a Master of Architecture and Bachelor of Architecture with a minor in Urban Design.

Scott Kevin Quillin, 55, District I

His resume says he is an engineer, licensed commercial contractor, and project manager at a local company managing large construction projects in the energy industry. He is currently listed as project manager with a local engineering consultant firm. Served on the Planning & Zoning Commission one term from 2009-2016.

Cynthia Strong Thompson, 55, District I

Her resume says she is a financial advisor (member FINRA/SIPC, CRPC, and AAMS) and former surgical sales specialist who has been active with the St. Tammany Chamber of Commerce and has served as board chair with several non-profits. She is listed as the managing director of her current firm. She is listed as having a B.A. in political science.

Elizabeth Barilleaux, 50, District II

Her resume says she is a licensed residential realtor and CCCIM candidate with B.S. in environmental engineering. She is currently employed with a local realty group.

Shawn C. Potter, 42, District II

His resume says he is an institutional research director with MBA and over twenty years experience with higher education institutions. He is currently listed as Director of Institutional Research with Tulane University.

M. Claire Durio, 54, District III

Her resume says she is a licensed attorney in the State of Louisiana and a state-licensed title agent with experience in land use, development, permitting, historic preservation. She is listed as a general partner in her current firm.

Andrea J. Fulton, 61, District III

Her resume says she has extensive experience in city government, community service, the public sector and non-profit and business settings, most notably with the City of New York, with a B.S. in HDSP/Human Resources and Industrial Psychology & Industrial Engineering.

Jeffrey R. Lyons Sr., 63, District III

His resume says he is a restaurant management and operations specialist with over 30 years experience with an emphasis on professional development. He is currently listed as the general manager of a New Orleans seafood restaurant. He is listed as having an associates degree in culinary arts and food service management. Lyons ran unsuccessfully for the District III council seat in 2016, being eliminated in a close primary.

Each Planning & Zoning Commission member serves seven-year terms, which are staggered by one year and expire August 31 of the expiration year. The applicant selected to fill Lahaskey’s vacated seat will only serve to complete the remainder of his term which expires in 2025. The other applicant will start a new seven-year term, expiring in 2028. The applicants appointed to these two vacancies will join five other Planning & Zoning Commission members: Planning Chairwoman Karen Gautreaux (2027), Zoning Chairman Nixon Adams (2023), Simmie Fairley (2022), Mike Pierce (2024), and Brian Rhinehart (2026).

Editor’s Note: Mandeville Daily decided that the only fair thing to do was to make available the legally redacted resumes and cover letters (as opposed to only the Mandeville Daily summaries above) with this story. In previous years, the complete resumes plus other information were available to download at the city’s website. We are also aware that hours before this story was published, the applicants’ names and complete addresses were posted to social media. As a matter of policy, Mandeville Daily does not publish nor share the home addresses or phone numbers of private citizens outside of what is explicitly allowed as “public record” by law. However, in this internet-driven age, such information can be found with relative ease by the public. Mandeville Daily intentionally only posted the council districts in which each applicant resides, and only because members of the City Council had made comments at the July 22nd meeting pertaining to whether the districts should play into consideration or not.

Download the applicants’ redacted resumes and cover letters here.

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