By MOLLY DAVIDSON / Staff Writer

PELHAM—Pelham will soon be accepting applications to fill the city’s Storm Water Regulations Board, established by Ordinance No. 328.

The board was created in 1998 in response to federal regulations requiring municipalities to “have some form of review in place,” Pelham City Council President Rick Hayes explained during an Aug. 19 phone interview.

“Apparently the decision at that point in time was… to have an appointed board,” Hayes said. However, the board has sat unfilled since its creation.

The City Council decided to put out a request for applications to fill the board during an Aug. 18 work session.

According to Ordinance No. 328, the board will consist of five member, each serving a four-year term, and will hold “semiannual meetings” and additionally as the board sees necessary.

“We’re looking for some folks who have experience in engineering and in the area of storm water runoff,” Pelham City Councilman Ron Scott said in an Aug. 19 phone interview. “We’ve been very successful the past few times we’ve asked people to put forth applications… I’m very confident there are individuals in the community who will respond to this.”

The board will be responsible for analyzing the city’s current regulations concerning storm runoff and helping the city to understand “what the responsibilities of the city are,” Scott explained.

Additionally, the board will “evaluate how things are being handled and opportunities to handle them differently,” Hayes said.

The City Council will review all applications submitted, and a board may be formed in the coming months.

“We have to collect applications, review applications and go through a vetting process,” Hayes said.

Scott said a request for applications should be posted to the Pelham website, Pelhamonline.com, by the end of the week, and anyone interested in applying for the Storm Water Regulation Board is welcome to submit applications.