Key permitting board appointments made

By JEFF MORRIS

It may be nearly three months into the year, but the Town Board continued making appointments at its Feb. 17 meeting.

Members approved the reappointment of Peter Michaelis as chair of the Zoning Board of Appeals, for a term of one year.

It also approved the reappointment of Deirdre Courtney-Batson as chair of the Planning Board, for a term of one year.

In addition, it approved appointing Michael Mellin to the Planning Board as an alternate member, effective immediately, for a three-year term. 

In January 2023, the Town Board was asked to consider a change to town law to allow for alternate members of permitting boards. Supervisor Ellen Calves said at the time that board chairs had expressed an interest in having alternate members. 

Some disagreement had arisen over whether an alternate board member would be able to participate in discussion of matters before the boards. Michaelis said he had no objection to this, but noted that the ZBA and the Planning Board operate very differently. Courtney-Batson was more concerned about the ramifications of alternate members making comments on the record. Ultimately it was decided to revise the proposal to say it would be at the discretion of each chair whether to allow a nonvoting alternate to participate.

The Town Board eventually approved the change, allowing alternate members in case of an absence or conflict in the review of an application and also to enable succession planning, but things did not go exactly as planned for the Planning Board.

“We had an alternate, but then he moved, and it didn’t quite turn into a robust position,” Calves explained at the Feb. 17 meeting. 

In her recommendation to the board, Calves said Mellin is an attorney, and “his professional experience will bring strong legal and analytical skills to the Planning Board’s work.” She described him as a resident of the town “who cares deeply about the sustainability of the community and looks forward to contributing.” 

She said Mellin can learn how to participate and do the work, “and hopefully, eventually join the Planning Board.”