SOUTHWICK — The Master Plan Advisory Committee may be expanded in size in order to accommodate both the Agricultural and Conservation commissions and to allow for Maryssa Cook-Obregón to serve as an at-large member after her removal from both commissions.

Cook-Obregón was selected by the Agricultural Commission to serve as its representative on the MPAC before her controversial removal by the Select Board last month.

Planning Board Chair Michael Doherty said that he did not think it would be right for Cook-Obregón to be excluded from the MPAC when she had been chosen by her former colleagues on the commission.

“Based on what has happened, my position is to add a resident spot and put Maryssa in the resident spot, as she is no longer in as an Ag representative,” said Doherty, “Given everything that is going on in town, given this, I think her voice and what that represents is important to this process and she should be on there.”

Cook-Obregón, as well as Conservation Commission Chair Chris Pratt and Agricultural Commission member Dennis Clark, were not reappointed to their seats on Sept. 27, when the Select Board chose committee members for the year. All three allege that they were dismissed as political retaliation for their past activism on land conservation topics in Southwick.

Cook-Obregón said that Select Board Vice Chair Russell Fox, who was acting as chair during the Sept. 27 meeting in the absence of Joseph Deedy, told her that she was being removed from both commissions because of her activism for the Save Southwick movement. The group opposed the Carvana project during the spring and summer. She said Fox also cited an unofficial meeting that she organized for the Agricultural Commission to oppose Carvana when a scheduled meeting was abruptly canceled.

Fox later confirmed the unsanctioned meeting was a reason for Cook-Obregón’s dismissal, but denied that she, Pratt, or Clark were dismissed because of Carvana or any previous stances they took on land conservation.

The Select Board had already approved a format for the MPAC in which it would have 15 people, including four residents, a Southwick business owner, and 10 members of different boards and commissions in town. Cook-Obregón was originally going to represent both the Agricultural and Conservation commissions, because she was a member of both.

Doherty’s suggested amendment to the MPAC would add a fifth resident slot to be filled by Cook-Obregón, and split her former seat into two people, so that both commissions can have a representative. Doherty said that the Planning Board would need to go back before the Select Board to get final approval to make the changes to the MPAC.

Doherty said that he would like to set a date for later this month for an initial MPAC meeting. He will serve as an ex-officio, nonvoting member; Marcus Phelps and David Spina will be the voting Planning Board representatives.

The presumptive remaining members, if the Select Board adopts Doherty’s plan to add two members, will be Doug Moglin from the Select Board, Randy Brown from the Department of Public Works, David DeiDolori from the Parks and Recreation Commission, Burt Hansen from the Agricultural Commission, Dave MacWilliams from the Conservation Commission, Norm Cheever from Lake Management, Patrick Jubb from the School Committee, Aleda De Maria from the Finance Committee, Scott Lamon, owner of Tynic Landscaping, and residents Dorrie Boyd, Roz Terry, Jessica Whitmore Parker, David Massai, and Maryssa Cook-Obregón.

Doherty said the Economic Development Commission selected both Amber Bach and Michael McMahon to the MPAC. He said the Economic Development Council will have to choose just one.

Also joining the MPAC in a non-voting capacity will be two students from Southwick schools. Doherty said that it can act as a sort of civics lesson for them while also providing a way to get a younger resident’s perspective when deciding on the guiding document for Southwick’s future.