RENSSELAERVILLE — A  newly appointed  member of the seven-member Rensselaerville Planning Board, Laura Bates, was not the first choice of the planning board itself

After interviewing three candidates to serve out the term of Scott Kunkler, who resigned in January, the planning board  unanimously recommended at its April meeting that the town board name Maryanne Overbaugh to replace him.

But the town board, at its May 12 meeting, failed to make the appointment. Three of five town-board members were present. All three needed to vote for Overbaugh in order for her to be named. After Supervisor Valerie Lounsbury moved Overbaugh’s appointment, she and Councilwoman Marion Cooke voted in favor. Councilman Bob Bolte voted against.

As a result, the board decided to hold a special meeting May 26, at which the full town board would be present to confirm the new planning board member.

Once again, Lounsbury introduced a motion at this special meeting to appoint Overbaugh. However, the motion was not seconded and was taken off the table.

According to Robert Freeman, director of the New York State Committee on Open Government, no law requires motions to be seconded but it is standard procedure in many legislative bodies.

A new resolution supporting another of the three interviewed candidates, Bates, was  then put forth by Councilman Bolte. Her appointment was approved without discussion by a vote of 4 to 1, with Lounsbury casting the lone nay vote.

Bates is the wife of Randall Bates, the town’s highway superintendent. Overbaugh is the wife of Mark Overbaugh, the town’s building inspector and code enforcement officer.

Former town supervisor Marie Dermody who was present at both meetings and who reports on  Rensselaer in her “R’ville Community Newsletter” says, “The whole thing took about  seven minutes,” referring to the rapid and undiscussed approval of Bates.

She has speculated in her newsletter that partisan politics may have played a role in the outcome.

The Rensselaerville town board members  include one Republican (the supervisor), two Conservatives (Bolte and Marion Cooke), one Independence party member (Margaret Sedlmeir),  and one Democrat (Gerald Wood).  Laura  Overbaugh and her husband are not enrolled in a political party, according to the Albany County voter rolls.  Laura Bates is enrolled as a Democrat, Randall Bates as a Conservative.

Richard Amedure, chairman of the planning board, declined to comment  on  the town board’s appointment of Bates. So, too,  did planing board member Barry Kuhar.

The most important recent issue before the planning board has been the placement of a communications tower on Edwards Hills Road, part of the Albany County Sheriff’s Department plan for a countywide communications system.

Dermody declares that “with one exception, the town board has always appointed the person recommended by the planning board.”

Further, she speculates that prior to the special meeting, “in a blatant violation of the New York State Open Meetings Law”, town board members must have agreed to block the appointment of Overbaugh and instead push through the naming of Bates.

But Freeman, an expert on the Open Meetings Law, says “ there is no way to prove this occurred. And secondly, even if there were  an exchange of views in emails or casually, before the meeting, such exchanges  would not constitute a violation of the Open Meetings Law.’ He says the law prohibits only non-open meetings at which a quorum may be present to conduct official business.

Supervisor Lounsbury says there was no conferring among board members prior to the May 26 special meeting of the town board.

Before the earlier May 12 vote on Overbaugh, Lounsbury had consulted with the town attorney and with the New York State Town Board Association to make sure there was no possible “conflict of interest” in appointing Overbaugh stemming from the fact her husband is the  town  building inspector and code enforcement officer. Lounsbury reported to the board that both the attorney and the association concluded there was no potential conflict.

Lounsbury says there was no need to do the same review for Bates because there existed no potential conflict of interest produced by her husband’s position as highway superintendent.

Neither Maryanne Overbaugh nor Laura Bates could be reached for comment.