County judge swears in Monticello officials

The River Reporter
Thursday, April 8, 1999

By TOM RUE

MONTICELLO - Newly elected mayor Gary Sommers and trustee James Barnicle were sworn in by Sullivan County judge Burton Ledina at the April 5 village board annual reorganizational meeting.

Sommers, 50, and Barnicle, 47, fill out the 5-man, all-Republican board. Sommers held a slim margin on March 16 for the last year of the term of late mayor James Kenny. First elected a trustee in 1994, Sommers was re-elected in 1998 which he quit last year to become mayor.

Clerk Edith Schop read the election's results: for Mayor -- Gary Sommers (R) 443, vs. James Sternberg (D) 392; and for Trustee -- James Barnicle (R) 379 vs. Janice Malman (D) 263 and Alvin Dumas (I) 249.

Announced re-appointments included: Michael Davidoff as village attorney and Richard Stoloff as deputy attorney. Phillip Conaty was reappointed acting village justice; and June Bartol to 5 years on the zoning board of appeals.

Alvin Dumas, Carmen Rue, Harvey Weinberg, Roy Parker, Rabbi Irwin Tanenbaum, and Greg Feicht were reappointed for 2 years each to the village Human Rights Commission, with Parker as chair. Norman Kaufman was reappointed to the planning board for five years. Monis Brafman was named deputy mayor. Barnicle and David Rosenberg will be board auditors. Stacy Walker was tapped for deputy clerk; and Glenn Smith, engineer.

Five local banks were dubbed "official," as was The Sullivan County Democrat. Drs. Edward Epstein, Joseph Lauterstein, Abraham Garfinkel, and David Sager were named police surgeons; Tanenbaum as police chaplain.

In other business, the board discussed advertising for a manager. Victor Gordon reminded the board of pledges to clean up the village's side streets. Vincent Gilmore asked the board to fix what he termed "health and safety violations" at the recently dedicated Monticello Arts and Cultural Center. Barnicle announced a gift of 27 tickets to a NJ Nets game, paid for privately, for the high school's basketball team.

A public hearing was set for April 19 to allow controlled burnings by the fire department inside village limits, and to let bids for specified street repairs.

The board entered executive session, with no votes expected after, to discuss negotiations with the Police Benevolent Association, a personnel matter and a tax installment agreement involving particular people.