PORTSMOUTH — James “Jamie” Edwards is a big reason for the town’s very identify, the Town Council president said of the former longtime member of the Zoning Board of Review during a brief ceremony at Town Hall Monday night.

“He gave it his all at every meeting,” Council President Kevin Aguiar said after reading a town proclamation honoring Mr. Edwards. “It’s folks like Mr. Edwards who have helped keep Portsmouth they way we all enjoy it. He’s a very big part of what’s kept Portsmouth, Portsmouth for all these years.”

Mr. Edwards resigned from the zoning board in January, saying it was time to step aside after serving for more than two decades. He first took a seat on the board on Oct. 23, 1995 and ended his tenure after serving as chairman for more than four years.

John Borden, the zoning board’s vice chairman, served alongside Mr. Edwards on the panel for about 15 years.

“Not everyone knows the effort that zoning board and planning board members put In,” Mr. Borden said.

Mr. Edwards, who had also served as the zoners’ recording secretary, was particularly meticulous when reviewing applications that came before the board, he said.

“I know Jamie used to drive around and tour all the properties so he became familiar with all the petitions,” Mr. Borden said.

The proclamation noted that Mr. Edwards “was a thoughtful and intelligent zoning board member who always did his ‘homework,’ and was very well prepared for each petition.” 

Being a contractor, Mr. Edwards was always helpful in clarifying complex petitions and he “knew the zoning ordinance inside and out and always based his decisions fairly based on the testimony as it applied to the ordinance,” the proclamation stated.

Public hearings set

In other business Monday night, the council, sitting as the Board of License Commissioners, unanimously voted to schedule public hearings for Oct. 15 to consider separate applications by two Island Park restaurants/bars that are seeking to permanently expand their service areas.

The requests came from KW Nelson Inc., doing business as Karl’s Park Avenue Pub, 506 Park Ave.; and CJ’s Pub, 568 Park Ave.

As part of its application, Karl’s is also seeking to transfer its Class BV beverage license to Migration, Inc.

CJ’s Pub, meanwhile, is also looking to expand its hours to a 2 a.m. closing time on Fridays and Saturdays and holiday evenings.

A quick one

Monday’s council meeting was one of the shortest in recent memory. With only a handful of items to review, the public portion of the session was all over after 27 minutes.