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The Lansing Town Board deferred a vote to reappoint planning board members for the second time at its December meeting.  Town Supervisor Ed LaVigne explained that mandatory sensitivity training for 2019 had not been completed by planning board member Dean Shea, Zoning Board of Appeals chair Hurf Sheldon due to a storm that cancelled a session.  But LaVigne said the Town is tightening its policy on the training for all board members.  LaVigne said the boards will continue with their current configuration until the makeup session on February 5th.  He said the three will have to attend two training sessions, the February one for 2019, and another for 2020.

"They'll have to do an additional training for this year as we all are doing," he said.

Lansing Director of Planning C.J. Randall said the Community Dispute Resolution Center (CDRC) will conduct the training sessions.  CDRC offers training on mediation, facilitating, advocacy, and communication and conflict management.  Randall said that anyone can attend the February 5th training.  She said she delayed scheduling the session until February because she misunderstood LaVigne when he asked for the makeup session, thinking it was intended for all town employees and elected officials.

"I thought that you wanted to have all of the town employees receive the training, which is why I delayed it until the first week in February, so as not to inconvenience the clerks who are already quite busy," she said. "Scheduling it this month did not seem prudent."

The training was instituted after citizen complaints that board members did not appear to be listening or taking their comments into consideration when deliberating on laws or zoning decisions.  The board instituted mandatory sensitivity training last year.  LaVigne said he wants the training to become part of town law.

"Hopefully we'll have a local law by our next meeting that States that every Town Board, ZBA member and Planning Board member has to have their training done within a year," LaVigne said. "Otherwise, if their training's not done in that year, and there will be numerous attempts right for our planner to do this, then we will start their process to remove that person from the board."

Full Planning Board member terms are for seven years.  Shea's appointment is up for renewal this year.  Alternate members, who fill in with full voting rights when a full member is absent, serve one year terms.  Tom Butler and Dale Baker's terms were also set to be renewed this month.  The resolution to renew the three positions was first raised in December, but was postponed until this month's meeting.  Now it will be taken up again at the February 19th Town Board meeting.

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