MONTEZUMA - The Montezuma Town Board finally approved its planning board and its schedule of terms at its regular meeting on Tuesday night - sort of.

“To comply with the law, six planning board members with certificates on file will do their training by December,” said Town Supervisor William Scott Saroodis.

He then listed the appointees and the ends of their terms: Robert Smith, December 2008; Gwen Ellinwood, December 2009; Marion Ellinwood, December 2010; Joe Verdi, December 2011; Barb Culotti, December 2012. Two open seats remain through December 2013 and 2014.

Saroodis had originally listed John Malenick at the December 2012 slot, but learned that Malenick submitted his resignation via e-mail a couple of weeks earlier. However, Malenick hadn't authorized the town clerk to submit it to the board. According to town clerk June Smith, she was asked to give the resignation to Joe Verdi, planning board chairman, to present to the board Tuesday evening.

Town attorney Norman Chirco suggested writing a letter to Malenick saying, “If we don't hear from you, we will accept this as your resignation.”

“I've given them four months to appoint a new planning board,” Malenick said. “They've asked us to jump through all kinds of hoops. There's no way that I would conduct town business without an official appointment.”

Malenick said that Scott Saroodis, required the board needed four hours of training, but with the delay in appointments, opportunities to attend the appropriate classes dwindled.

“I've offered my services right along,” Malenick said. “I guess that's why they thought I'd be waiting. As far as the town getting any more work out of me at my expense, they can forget it. I will not follow leadership that asks me to do something illegal. I cannot be part of that.”

Malenick maintained it was illegal for the town to allow the planning board to do the town's work without having been re-appointed.

It has been four months since the planning board has operated without having been officially appointed by the town board.

Malenick was one of six planning board members who were not reappointed at the reorganizational meeting in January after council member Antoinette Smart called for a sudden executive session spurred by comments from one of the planning board members.

At the end of the executive session, Saroodis said the board had unanimously decided to dismantle the existing planning board.

At that time, the planning board and town board disagreed on the tenure of planning board members. Saroodis had said the town had appointed planning board members on a yearly basis.

Verdi, then planning board chairman, said he had submitted a plan to the town board with seven-year terms and one seat vacant each year.

Saroodis believed someone with an agricultural background should serve, given the interest some other people in the community had expressed in serving. All of this played to a backdrop of a rumored 2,000 head pig farm about to be established in the town.

Malenick said that he had been approached by Dan Randolph, leader of Montezuma Citizens Opposed to Animal Factories and Waste Storage, to work on a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation moratorium while he still had not been officially appointed to the planning board. At this point he had reached a high level of frustration.

“I've made sure that all relevant people know that I've officially resigned,” Malenick said. He said he resigned in writing to Verdi. Malenick said he intends to remain involved with the town and will attend town board meetings, perhaps even running for town supervisor in the next election.

Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net