The Jefferson Transit Authority Board is set to expand from six seats to eight following the preliminary approval to increase the agency’s governing body.

Authority board members Heidi Eisenhour, Greg Brotherton, Kate Dean, David Faber, and Ben Thomas, along with Jefferson Transit General Manager Nicole Gauthier, met last week to explore the possibility of expanding the board.

The current authority board consists of three Jefferson County commissioners, two appointed city of Port Townsend councilmembers, and one non-voting Amalgamated Transit Union No. 587 representative.

The expansion will officially take place if approved by the authority board at its scheduled Dec. 20 meeting.

“I have expressed for a long time the desire to expand the board and get added representation on it,” said Dean, a transit board member and Jefferson County commissioner.

“It makes a lot of sense to me,” said Brotherton, also a county commissioner and authority board member.

One of the two potential new seats will be reserved for a school board member from any school district in Jefferson County, while the second seat will be designated for an elected official from either a school district board, the Jefferson County Public Utility District, Jefferson Healthcare, or the Port of Port Townsend, according to Jefferson Transit.

“I’m excited about this change and I like the broader inclusion … this checks that box for me,” added Eisenhour, who is also a Jefferson County commissioner.