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Chatham Planning Board chair resigns

Dec 29, 2016 7:00 am

Emilia Teasdale is reporting in The Columbia Paper Marilyn Cohen, chairman of the Chatham Town Planning Board has resigned, effective Dec. 31. Her letter of resignation was read into the official record at the December 15 meeting of the Chatham Town Board. Cohen said her resignation was due to “fundamental differences I have with the new administration.” She said she was not consulted about appointments, including legal counsel and a Planning Board clerk, adding, “People we are currently working with have simply been foisted upon us. It is clear to me that this current Town Board wishes to control the actions of the Planning Board, and this is something that I will not take part in,” Cohen wrote. During the public comment portion of the meeting, resident Mike Blasl asked about other resignations, including five members of the Zoning Board of Appeals. He also asked that information about what Town Board members are paid in other towns be provided to the Citizens Finance Committee for consideration during the next budget season. The town is currently looking to fill a total of nine positions. Beginning in November, five members of the Zoning Board of Appeals, three from the Planning Board, including Cohen, and the town historian all submitted letters of resignation to Town Supervisor Maria Lull. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.