HAMMOND | There were no unanimous decisions Tuesday night as two new members of the Hammond Redevelopment Commission attended their first meeting.

It wasn't the result of any irreconcilable differences over policy. The City Council failed to complete the required paperwork for its appointee, Robertsdale resident Leon Gamino, in time for the meeting.

On the advice of David Westland, the commission's attorney, Gamino answered "abstain" on every vote when his name was called -- 16 times in all.

By a narrow margin, the council last week replaced with Gamino popular North Hammond financier Rosemary Wojdyla, its pick for the commission seat since 2004, over a reported concern about too much consonance among Redevelopment Commission members.

All requisite procedures for Woodmar resident Tony Hauprich, appointed to the commission by Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr., had been finalized so he could fully participate Tuesday night.

Hauprich replaced longtime commission member Dan Spitale, who was elected to serve out the unexpired term of at-large City Councilwoman JoAnn Matonovich, who died unexpectedly in December.

By statute, the Hammond mayor has three appointments to the five-member Redevelopment Commission and the City Council has two.

Commission members and others on Tuesday were critical of those City Council members, who reportedly claimed to be replacing Wojdyla over a lack of disagreement among the board, and too many unanimous votes.

"We're not here to disagree, we're here to agree," said McKinley "Mac" Nutall, Redevelopment Commission president.

"We pause, we discuss, and we come to a consensus," Nutall said. "Five people agreeing is not a bad thing -- we're here to promote improvements for this city."

"We would table matters if we felt more information was needed," commission member Jimmie Lambert said. "I don't understand why doing a good job for the people of Hammond is wrong."

And City Councilman Mark Kalwinski, D-1st, said it is "sad that antagonism and combativeness take precedence over consensus building."

Kalwinski, who nominated Wojdyla, apologized to commission members for the "unfounded remarks" of some council members.

Wojdyla said her six years on the Redevelopment Commission were "one of the best experiences of my life," and wondered when "cooperation began to be considered undemocratic."

City Councilman Bob Markovich, D-at large, who nominated Gamino for the redevelopment seat, apologized to commission members for not getting the paperwork ready on time.

Gamino, an employee of the BP Whiting Refinery, and Hauprich, who works for the Hammond Water Department, said they are excited to be a part of the commission, and look forward to serving Hammond in their new positions.

Both admitted they had never attended a Redevelopment Commission meeting until Tuesday night.