By Carol Britton Meyer

Hull Redevelopment Authority Vice Chair Robert DeCoste resigned his position as a board member effective Oct. 17, leaving a vacancy to be filled in the near future.

In a letter to the select board, DeCoste said he has purchased a home outside of Hull and will be moving.

After the board acknowledged receipt of DeCoste’s letter, Town Manager Philip Lemnios said that HRA Chair Bartley Kelly would be submitting a letter to the select board informing them of the resignation.

“This will kick off the process [of naming a replacement],” Lemnios said. The remaining four members of the HRA – Kelly, James Tobin, Henry Dunn, and Dennis Zaia – will make the appointment jointly with the select board.

Select board Chair Jennifer Constable provided The Hull Times with information about how the town fills vacancies in response to an inquiry.

According to state law, the remaining members of the board are required to notify the select board within a month of the vacancy. Presuming that is done, the remaining board members and the select board, after one week’s notice, would fill such a vacancy by roll-call vote.

However, if a board were to fail to give notice of the vacancy within the required 30 days, the select board would fill such a vacancy, and the remaining members of the other board would have no role in the process.

In this case, though, Kelly intends to notify the board, which means a replacement will be named in a joint meeting.