Ledyard — The Town Council voted unanimously Wednesday to revive the former Community Services Committee, renaming it the Community Relations Committee to better reflect its intent to work toward equal opportunity and treatment of residents.

The 8-0 vote — Councilor Kevin Dombrowski was absent — came after residents spoke out at the June 13 Black Lives Matter rally and the June 24 Town Council meeting about their concerns regarding racism in town. At that meeting, council Chairman Linda Davis recommend the Administration Committee discuss reactivating the committee, and in later communications she recommended the name change. The Administration Committee met last week to approve it to send back to the Town Council for Wednesday's vote.

Councilors Andra Ingalls, Bill Saums and Mike Washington will sit on the committee, with Washington as chair. As a subcommittee of the Town Council, only councilors can serve on the committee itself, but community workshops will be scheduled for residents to share their thoughts.

Washington said he's looking forward to seeing what this committee can do, especially in collaboration with other similar committees, such as the Diversity and Inclusion Committee the Board of Education established last month. He and other committee members encouraged residents to contact them with their concerns.

During Wednesday's meeting, the Town Council also voted unanimously to adopt amendments that revised ordinances relating to the Pension Board and the Social Services Board. The council hosted a public hearing on both amendments prior to the meeting.

The Pension Board ordinance was revised to combine two ordinances involving the town's retirement plans, as well as to rename the board the Retirement Board. The amendment also included adding two alternate members; currently the board has five members and no alternates, and board Chair John Rodolico said quorums could be challenging if people were sick or on vacation.

The Social Services Board had been dissolved in February, so the ordinance establishing youth services in town was revised to include language specific to a social services board to meet requirements for certain grants the town is seeking. The new board will be called the Youth and Social Services Board.

The public hearing also sought comment on a dog leash ordinance to review changes to the working document made after another public hearing in February. That ordinance was not voted on by the Town Council, as the Administration Committee will continue working on it based on additional feedback.

a.hutchinson@theday.com