On Thursday, March 9, the Newfield Town Board voted to appoint new members to the planning board to fill vacancies.

Leo Tidd, chair of Newfield's planning board, announced that he will be leaving at the end of April due to moving out of the area, prior to the planning board's May meeting, and said the planning board will need a new chair by then.

"I'm sorry to see that; you've done a great job," Michael Allinger, supervisor of the Town of Newfield, said to Tidd. "I don't know how many years, but since I've been supervisor."

The board voted to appoint Ben Emery to the planning board for a five-year term, replacing Rachel Schneider.The board considered four applications, but Emery's application was moved forward, with town board members citing Emery's status as a lifelong resident of Newfield and background in agriculture.

The town board voted to appoint John DeMattia to the planning board. Allinger said DeMattia has been routinely coming to town and planning board meetings since he moved to Newfield, and has shown an interest in what they are doing, so Allinger is thus confident that DeMattia will contribute much to the Planning Board.

At the town board's request, DeMattia shared his professional background, which includes working a variety of jobs, from a police officer to an engineer. DeMattia, who is now retired, is also involved with the Lions Club and a member of the Gun Club, said he "had (his) hand in everything," allowing him to demonstrate many skills, from managing corporations to writing procedural manuals.

"I think I'm the first in my generation who bounced around," DeMattia said. "I didn't wait to get a gold watch, 35-40 years in one company. That wasn't me."

Randy Brown, who represents Newfield in the Tompkins County Legislature, gave a report about the legislature. He informed the Town Board that Second Wind Cottages tried to submit an alternative proposal to the legislature, but it was rejected due to the legislature not allowing applicants to submit revised proposals.

Brown said that Second Wind's prior application is still under consideration, and he will make a resolution to eliminate that application at the legislature's next meeting, on Tuesday, March 21. If the resolution passes, the money that would have gone to Second Wind - between $5,000 and $10,000 - will be redistributed, and Brown hopes some of the money will go to his constituents in Newfield and Enfield.

Allinger encouraged Newfield residents who want to make a statement on Second Wind to attend the legislature's meeting this month. He said people who want to speak at the meeting should contact the legislature, whose contact information can be found at their website, and request permission to speak at the meeting via Zoom at least 24 hours in advance. Brown said residents can also speak if they attend the meeting in person.

Tidd shared a report on the Hamlet Revitalization forum that was held at the Newfield Town Hall on Jan. 19 with the Town Board, which summarized the input from residents and the areas where the attendees had a consensus. He said this was the end of the Planning Board's involvement in this topic for now, and documenting what they learned was a good stopping point.