It has been suggested that the new Wendell town board needs some time to find its way as new power brokers take control of the body.

And that suggestion is fair enough.

Nevertheless, we were a bit dissapointed with the lack of progress commissioners made during last week's day-long planning retreat.

The retreat was billed as an easy meeting for staff because commissioners would handle preparation of most of the items on the agenda.

And, in places, commissioners did seem prepared: Commissioner Christie Adams came ready to set firm meeting dates for the Law Enforcement and Recreation Committee she chairs.

No one else wanted to set firm meeting dates for the committees they chaired. That decision will leave the public guessing as to when four of the town's five committees will meet.

Commissioner Sid Baynes had a detailed explanation of the issues he expects the committee he chairs - Land Use and Economic Development - to tackle during the coming year. And Commissioner Ira Fuller had a lengthy report on the areas of interest to his committee - Public Works and Infrastructure.

Exactly what issues the Finance and Human Resources Committee, the Education and Community Relations Committee and the Law Enforcement and Recreation Committees will tackle is unclear.

Among the grinding topics that took up commissioners' time at last week's retreat was a discussion of who would be responsible for taking minutes and reporting to the other commissioners on the board about the meetings of the town's new committees.

Planning retreats are, as we told one Wendell resident last week, great opportunities to discuss issues of importance to the town in a less-formal setting than a regular board meeting allows. But for them to be effective, someone has to come prepared. As a whole, commissioners fell short of that goal in this year's retreat.