Monticello village officers' dual roles raises eyebrows

The River Reporter
Thursday, March 2, 1995

Monticello village officers' dual roles raise eyebrows

By TOM RUE

MONTICELLO - Two high-ranking Monticello village officials have come under fire lately for their multiple roles in hammering out the rental of a village-owned parcel to the Mountain Lions baseball team.

Mayor Robert Friedland questioned whether village manager William Cummings should have been involved with preparing a memorandum of understanding, which Friedland said "holds contractual weight" in legally binding the village to keep promises to Acton, including setting amounts and the distribution of payments in lieu of taxes.

Since the village will be renting the property to the Mountain Lions, no taxes are or will be paid on the site. Acton agreed to make annual payments equival to the assessed value of the site, according to Cummings.

Interviewed February 25, Friedland faulted Cummings for not distancing himself sooner from negotionations with Action, in light of an admitted conflict of interest. He also said the board should have been informed sooner. But Friedland stopped short of calling for Cummings' ouster, or of accusing him of violating any law.

Rumored firing denied

Friedland began the February 22 village board meeting by announcing he wanted "to clear up one rumor, a false statement that's been circulating, floating around town."

Friedland denied the existence plans to fire village manager William Cummings, "tonight." While Friedland did not specify the source of the alleged rumor, an anonymous fax received by local news organizations claimed Cummings was going to be fired on February 22.

Cummings said he saw the fax, but said he is still too new to the area to speculate on what person or group might be opposed to him or his policies. Cummings was hired months ago.

"I really don't know who would do that," he said, stating he was told by an editor of The Times Herald-Record that a woman reported the same thing orally by phone without giving her name.

Countering the rumored firing, and citing a quarterly report by Cummings which showed fiscal and other progress for the village, trustee Gary Somers moved to give Cummings "a vote of confidence." This was seconded by trustee Gloria Cahalan.

A motion to table was made by Vandermark, who asserted the matter belonged in executive session. Vandermark claimed that in seven years as a trustee she never heard anyone suggest a vote of confidence for a manager and she disagreed with the idea.

By a 3-2 vote, the board tabled Somers' motion.

Cummings said he found the vote "bewildering." He admitted leaving the meeting discouraged, and even talked with his wife that night about quitting. Cummings said he decided to press on with the agenda he was hired to pursue. "I'll be here until there's three votes to get rid of me, or until I decide to leave," he said.

Because Cummings owns the Newburgh Nighthawks, a team in the same league as the Mountain Lions, board members disqualified him from signing a written agreement with Acton. Village clerk Edith Schop certified the board vote on the agreement, though Cummings said he wrote the document. He claimed he did not have time to seek board input because he learned of Acton's interest in the village-owned property only a week before the meeting.

Cummings' role in negotiating and drafting the agreement with the Mountain Lions appears innonsistent with a pledge he made in November that if any need arose for "a contractual obligation" between the village and the ball-team he would step back and leave the matter to the village attorney. Municipal contracting over baseball seemed unlikely in November, since the Mountain Lions were then planning to buy real estate in the village on the open market, not rent a tax-exempt site.

Cummings' statement at a November 21 village board meeting, in response to this reporter's question, was provided on audio-tape to The River Reporter in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Law.

After the tape was received, Cummings could not be reached to be asked to respond specifically to the apparent discrepancy.

Friedland at first disputed that the memorandum of understanding is a contract, but then admitted it could probably be construed as one for certain purposes in court.

Attorney admits conflict of interest

Village attorney Martin Miller said he also now finds himself unable to represent the municipality in baseball negotiations because he represents Acton. He professed uncertainty over the date he begain billing Acton.

Miller placed the start of his relationship with Acton "in November or early December" 1994. He then said he was unaware Friedland had publicly voiced firm confidence that the team would end up in the village, at least as early as November 2, 1994.

"Marty definitely has a conflict of interest. A 10-year-old could see it!" said Friedland. "He put himself and he put the village in an embarassing situation," Friedland added, suggesting Miller should step back from representing Acton as well as the village at this point.

Plus getting a $30,000 flat annual fee for services as village attorney, Miller engages in private practice with a Monticello law firm. Stoloff receives $7000 per year as deputy village attorney, Friedland said, and also has a private practice. Both are obligated to do whatever legal work the board assigns, according to Friedland.

Miller was hired by the village about April 1994, long before Acton began looking for real estate in Sullivan County.

On November 22, Miller reported he had been unable to attend to an unrelated item of village legal business because he was "literally doing nothing but baseball except for the day I spent in Albany on the appeal of the action before Judge Bradley," according to the tape of a board meeting.

Miller now states he disclosed his relationship with Acton to the village board -- in executive session -- after learning the team might end up in the village. He claimed the matter qualified for closed-door discussion as "a personnel matter."

Friedland said he recalled this meeting. "Everybody just looked at him and couldn't believe it. You're representing the village and now you're representing him?" officials seemed to be wondering, Friedland said. No one challenged Miller's announcement at the time, but Friedland said "a lot of people" have done so since.

Former Thompson supervisor John Barbarite publicly called on Acton to "find himself another attorney," at the board meeting where the memo of understanding was signed.

Stoloff will now represent the village in relation to baseball, Miller said. But Stoloff could not attend on February 22 due to a prior commitment. He could not be reached for comment, and was said to be out of town on February 25.