Zoning commission member not reappointed

MINERAL RIDGE -- Weathersfield Township trustees have granted a request by the township zoning commission not to reappoint commission member Jim Sweeney to the panel when his term ends Dec. 31.
Trustees received the letter from the commission earlier this month asking them not to reappoint Sweeney. Trustees voted 2-1 this week to appoint Robert Eyster to a five-year term on the panel beginning Jan. 1 to replace Sweeney.
In its letter, the commission cited, among other reasons, that Sweeney has not been "a positive and contributory member" during his three-year term.
Sweeney glad
Sweeney, who is in the last year of his first term on the board, said Wednesday, "I'm proud that I am no longer a part of the zoning clique."
He added, "I'm for open government and looking out for the public and the people."
In its letter, the commission said Sweeney has said that "he chooses to share all of the zoning commission general discussion with individuals who are not members" of the commission.
The letter said those discussions are "at times, deliberative discussions and opinions by commission members of their viewpoints on zoning amendments and changes being considered before they are formally written or proposed to the trustees as recommended zoning regulation changes."
Sweeney responded that although commission sessions are open to the public, commission members don't want people "to know what they're doing. It's ridiculous."