Two resign from Planning Board ... again

SUMNER — Selectmen accepted two resignations, effective immediately, from the planning board during the selectboard meeting Tuesday. 

Last September, five of the seven planning board members stepped down in a mass resignation, including James Durfee and former chair James Gammon, who again announced their resignations this week.

Durfee's resignation was written and Gammon's was verbal, selectmen said. 

Selectwoman Kelly Stewart said she would prefer to see a written resignation from Gammon. 

Gammon's term was set to expire in 2015 and Durfee's, next year. Both were appointed to the planning board in November. 

Tuesday's resignations leaves five members on the board.

In September, despite the "volatile" atmosphere among planning board members, Gammon said he was "willing to stay on the planning board ... and see it through ... if this whole problem can get resolved." 

What he was referring to, at the time, was 18 months of irreconcilable personal differences between the other members and one member in particular, Jeff Pfeifer. 

In his resignation letter to the selectmen, Durfee said he felt his contribution to the board was "seemingly miniscule." 

"As with any divorce, dissolving a relation is never easy or taken lightly, and many factors have come into play," he wrote. 

"This is a resignation from the ... Town of Sumner's Planning Board effective January 22nd, 2013 along with the thought that I may be obliged to serve in a more constructive fashion through a number of its committees." 

Pfeifer, following the meeting Tuesday, said he thought the planning board problems had been resolved and it had been functioning fairly well.

Aside from Pfeifer, current members of the board include former selectman Dan Perron, Ricky Beaudet and alternates Steve Peters and Richard Estes. 

Resident Ted Dawicki asked selectmen whether Peters and Estes, both alternates, would be offered the positions as full-time members prior to the openings being posted. 

"They've been coming to every meeting and doing everything," Dawicki said. 

Selectboard Chairwoman Mary Ann Haxton said both alternates had the option to request in their letters of interest whether they would like to become full-time members – neither of them did, Haxton said.  

According to Haxton, the resignations mean the planning board is looking for two full-time members. It is also hoping to hire a secretary as requested by the planning board, she said.