BERNE — For all the drama leading up to it, Wednesday’s meeting was an altogether quaint return to business for the Berne Town Board, which met for the first time since last July before a crowd of at least a couple dozen. 

It was also the first meeting for new board member Melanie laCour, an attorney who was appointed to the position by Governor Kathy Hochul earlier this year due to the sudden resignation of three board members last August — preventing the board from meeting all those months. 

New town attorney George McHugh — a former Coeymans supervisor who is the attorney for the town of Westerlo and the Albany County Sheriff’s Office — also made his debut. 

Despite having eight months worth of business to catch up, the agenda items were mostly mundane and the meeting was wrapped up in a little over an hour.

Mostly a good-natured meeting with plenty of banter, the only tense moment in the infamously tense town came right at the end when laCour — a Democrat, unlike her colleagues — made a surprise motion to allow public comment at that and all future meetings.

There was no second, and Palow explained that he would not allow public comment at meetings because people were often “nasty.” There was no further discussion among board members but many in the crowd expressed their frustration, including one woman who spoke up from the back of the room to ask Palow, “Who made you king?” 

Palow responded that the remark proved his point about decorum. 

The board, which is supposed to have five members, also did not fill its own two vacancies, and Town Clerk Kristin de Oliveira told The Enterprise that the board has received just one application for the positions so far. 

Former Berne Democratic Committee Chairman Jeff Marden told The Enterprise this week that the committee is working on finalizing a slate of candidates, and that the one applicant is not affiliated with the committee. 

At an otherwise typical meeting, there were, however, the following items of note: 

— The board unanimously approved Albany County’s proposed deed for Switzkill Farm, which will allow Palow to move forward with the sale of the 358-acre property (some in the crowd cheered at this); 

— It filled a vacancy on the zoning board of appeals (Sean Lyons, unanimously) as well as two vacancies on the planning board (former member Mike Vincent and Deputy Highway Superintendent Jim Dietz, unanimously) plus an alternate (Casey Miller, unanimously) and reinstated three members of the conservation board (unanimously);

— Zoning Board Chairman Tom Spargo summarized for the board the two pending solar projects, which The Enterprise recently covered, and said there may be a third on the way but that he has no details about it at this point;

— On recommendation from the planning board, the town board will consider a moratorium on batteries so that it can craft a law for the kinds of systems associated with commercial solar. McHugh advised that lithium-battery fires can be difficult to put out for local departments. A draft local law will be presented at the next meeting, in April; 

— Tired of clogs, the town board is threatening to enforce its sewer code, which allows the town to fine between $500 and $1,000 for violations. Palow explained that flushed baby wipes are the main offender;

— Highway Superintendent Randy Bashwinger explained the town ran out of salt three weeks ago and, due to a larger shortage, there’s no clear timeline for replenishment, though with spring here it’s not an enormous concern;

— Things are moving along with a workout-equipment grant that will let the town create a similar setup at its town park as Guilderland has at Tawasentha Park; and

— Finally, the town is abandoning Way Lane — a ¼-mile loop attached to Elm Drive — to the sole homeowner there who wants to make it a gated, private road for reasons that include keeping thieves away from a fuel supply he has on the property.