Pine Plains talks meetings and members

PINE PLAINS — The Town Board dealt with some basic issues at its monthly meeting in February. One such topic had to do with filling vacant seats on various town boards and committees; another had to do with meeting dates and times.

The Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) will meet on the fourth Tuesday of the month at 7:30 p.m.; if there is no business to discuss at any given meeting, that specific meeting will be canceled. To make that official, the Town Board passed a resolution amending what had originally been stated at its organizational meeting in January.

As far as its members go, the ZBA is one member down as Gary Keeler, whom the Town Board previously appointed, immediately thereafter realized he wouldn’t be able to accept the position. So far a few residents have expressed interest in filling the position. To help the Town Board make a decision, it will first go through an interview process; once details are finalized they will be published.

The board also discussed its options regarding alternates for the zoning board. According to Attorney to the Town Warren Replansky, there is a local law that allows the Town Board to appoint an alternate member to the ZBA. The chair  would designate that member to participate when a ZBA member has a conflict. All provisions of state law apply to the alternate member. Replansky said he will distribute copies of the law to the Town Board and then it can plan to hold a public hearing on the matter. The board voted to do so at its March 18 meeting, at 8 p.m.

The issue of performance standards was brought up by Councilwoman Sandra David. Town Supervisor Gregg Pulver said he reviewed the request for a policy and that board members have at least two hours of training; he added that Planning Board members have four hours already.

“You can establish a policy for board members to attend meetings and that they must attend all but three meetings a year,� he said. “And if not, you can try to dismiss them.�

“We’re not civil servants but town officers,� Replansky noted.

“In some towns they’re not elected, but volunteers,� added Pulver.

“You can select the number of meetings they cannot miss,� Replansky said. “My recommendation is three meetings a year without a medical or justifiable reason. You don’t want to be too oppressive because many are volunteer boards [like the Planning Board and the ZBA].�

“I just took off their recommendations,� David said, referring to a conference she went to where it was suggested that towns establish performance policies. “I was a good student.�

“You can say members will conduct themselves with civility and not commit sexual harassment, etc. You can’t just have it pertain to the Planning Board and the ZBA, but you have to have all town boards submit to it.�

The Town Board next addressed the CAC (Conservation Advisory Council). The issue of the CAC setting a permanent meeting time arose.

“If we had a consistent time and day we wouldn’t have to notify the paper all the time,� said Joan Redmond.

“It’s so the public can come [that you would want a regular schedule],� said Planning Board Chairman Rick Butler, summing up the rationale for municipal meetings. “And you want the public to come.�

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