The Warren Planning Board agenda for its May 19 meeting, like those of the six months prior, included an expected public hearing on the major sub-division, "Settlers Green" housing development at the location the historic former Kinnicutt-Bettencourt Farm.

However, as had been the case now for low these many gatherings, the parties on both sides of the matter agreed to a continuance.

As Planning Board Chairman Fred Massie noted before the forum and reiterated, too, during the May 19 session, the decision to accept another delay was because an engineering study performed by the firm Fuss & O'Neill had only been completed and received a few days before. The short timeframe, he said, left little opportunity for proper scrutiny and digestion by both town officials and those representing the owner/developer, Last Ever Realty LLC.

Massie called the "Settlers Green" situation "highly unusual." He continued, "What's happened, in the 20 years I've been doing this (serving on the planning board), this is the first time this has ever happened, like it just keeps going. So it's unfortunate."

The board made the perfunctory gesture of agreeing the continuance and moving the item to once again be put on the body's June 23 meeting.

Massie did open the floor for comments from those in attendance May 19. The first audience member to speak questioned the means by which the town goes about communicating the repeated delays, possibly creating some form of direct electronic notification considering each has occurred late in the process and with the meeting agenda already published.

Massie said of the suggestion. "I think it's a very good idea," adding, "I mean, this is one of the problems with communication, you know, and also with the current situation where people don't read newspapers anymore...We haven't, as a town, kept up with the reality of the world, which is a lot of this stuff is online...I completely agree. There's nothing worse than getting all psyched and coming in and then realizing it's not going to happen."

Board member E. Jenny Flanagan noted the town council and the administration is pursuing a redesign of the official Warren website as well as using various social media platforms to get information out to residents in a quicker, more diverse manner.

"It is something that the town council is aware of, not just for the planning board, but for all town meetings and town activities, how to get the word out more because they would love some how to greater communication and participation with the people that we worked for," Flanagan added. "What we can do is make a recommendation to the town council that they move expeditiously on this process that they're already doing, but do it through the planning board as well."

The discussion concluded with the board approving and sending a resolution to the council to act redesigning the town website and include/initiate some sort of electronic notification system.

Also of note from last week, Massie and board administrative clerk Alyssa Oswald briefly touched on the situation surrounding the town's attempt to find a new planning director in the stead of Herb Durfee, who left the post late last calendar year for the same position in Barrington.

Massie pointed out the job had been posted to various employment sites, including the American Planning Association. He and Oswald said two applications had been received and reviewed, but that the position remains open and the town is continuing to seek additional applicants.

In the meantime, Alison Ring, who spent ample time as a consultant during the town's comprehensive plan revamp that last few years, is serving as the interim planner on a part-time basis.