MONTICELLO - Village of Monticello trustee Aleta Lymon, who ran on the Democratic-Conservative line, likely lost her seat in Tuesday's elections. Lymon had the least amount of votes in the five-way race in which the top two vote-getters take office.

Jill Weyer, a Village of Monticello trustee since 2015, decided not to run for re-election, creating the second vacancy.

Unofficial results from the Sullivan County Board of Elections show former Mayor Gary P. Sommers (Republican-Conservative) and Michael B. Banks, Jr. (Republican) in the lead with 154 and 138 votes respectively.

But former trustee Rochelle Massey (Democratic G-Woman) was right behind with 131 votes.

There are currently 87 absentee ballots at the Board of Elections and any ballot postmarked by March 19 and received by March 27 will be counted.

Elections Commissioner Cora Edwards said the absentee ballots will be counted and reported Tues., March 27.

Repeated attempts to reach Massey for comment were unsuccessful. (Village Justice Josephine V. Finn ran unopposed for re-election on the Democratic-Republican-Conservative lines.)

In other local elections, trustee Lyman R. Holmes was re-elected in Wurtsboro. In Bloomingburg, Mayor Russell Wood Jr. was re-elected and Samuel J. Weingarten joined as a new trustee. Village Justice Cheryl Beverson ran unopposed. In the Village of Jeffersonville, which tallies its own results, incumbent trustees Greg Brewer received 13 votes and William Chellis got 10. Both are Independent and ran unopposed.

Banks said Wednesday in a Facebook post: “It's still close between Rochelle and I but if she wins, let's try to still work together and I pray that the board works as a whole and actually make things happen for the better of the village. Remember, everyone hears and watches us so please make smart and educated decisions for all of your neighbors.”

Lymon also posted to Facebook, saying that Massey had “a strong possibility” of winning once absentees were counted. In a separate post, she said, “there's a lot going on. It would not be good for Banks to get in. Trust me.”

Rounding out the five candidates was Stephanie O'Brien (G-Women) who garnered 80 votes.

There were 582 total votes cast in the Village, which has an eligible voter population of just over 3,000 and a total of 6,900 residents.

Sommers, who lost to Jim Barnicle for Mayor in the 2004 election, said in an interview yesterday: “I think my position is fairly secure” in advance of the absentee ballots being counted.

Sommers said one thing the Village needs is a Master Plan to help determine “who we want to be when we grow up.” Asked about the value of the recently unveiled Monticello-Thompson Gateway Corridor Strategic Plan, Sommers said the Village needs both a Master Plan and the Gateway Plan to succeed.

“We have a beautiful setting on Broadway but there are reasons we haven't been able to bring in business,” Sommers said, adding that Broadway was 98 percent occupied by businesses when he was in office.

He also expressed concern that non-residents think “the (Resorts World Catskills) casino is Monticello and Monticello is the casino.“

Sullivan County Republican Chair Richard P. Coombe said yesterday that the Village race “is too close to call but I thought it would be good for the Village with Gary and Michael. I think they would strengthen the village board. I think they are less divisive and think they could bring together a team effort. I just want a better Sullivan County and the Village needs all the help it can get.”

COOMBE: VILLAGE SHOULD DISSOLVE AND MERGE WITH TOWN OF THOMPSON

But Coombe then dropped a bombshell, saying, “I think the Village should be taken over by the Town of Thompson” and urged that a dialogue between the Village and Town should begin. He said that additional revenue now flowing from the casino and Y01 into town coffers made this a good time for a merger to happen. “There can never be a better time to have the town take over the village. It's really needed. The town has the resources and it would make economic sense for Village (residents) too.”

But, Coombe, a former state Assemblyman acknowledged that the “political lift' would be difficult because the Village Board would first have to vote to dissolve itself. “It's hard for a political constituency to give up power and control. But it would be really good for the Village.” He cited the fact that right now the Village and Town have duplicative services such as building inspection and highway departments but that the police force and water services would stay under Village control.

“I'm hoping Town of Thompson would be willing to take them and look at advantages of consolidation at this time.”

RENAISSANCE $250,000 GRANT IN JEOPARDY

Meanwhile, with the future of the board uncertain, chaos reigned at the March 19 Board meeting when Mayor Doug Solomon, trustee Aleta Lymon and trustee Carmen Rue did not show up, leaving a packed agenda, including the risk of losing its $250,000 grant from Sullivan Renaissance that was awarded last summer. Solomon reportedly could not attend because of his terminally ill mother-in-law.

Sullivan Renaissance Executive Director Denise Frangipane, who was at the March 19 meeting, was prepared to urge the Board to act on the application. The next day, she warned in a letter to the Board that it now has just one week from the date of its next board meeting to fill out and send in a two-page application to begin the process of securing the funding.

“We want to keep the process going so Monticello can benefit,” Frangipane said.

Her letter to the Board stated: “It is unfortunate that the Village Board has been unable to hold a meeting for the purpose of general business; but also to determine the intended use of the $250,000 Gold Feather awarded in August 2017. This funding involved a detailed and lengthy contract process, which has already been delayed over six months.”

“Sullivan Renaissance is now forced to set a firm deadline for submission of the preliminary application. A decision for the allocation of funds must be made at the next Village Board meeting and a completed application submitted to our office within a week.”

Village Manager David Sager, who said he has been urging the Board to take action on the grant, confirmed Wednesday night that the Village next meets on April 3. As for the Board meetings held in March, Sager said Denise (Frangipane) was at the March board meetings and “told the Board that Sullivan Renaissance may well have to appropriate the money to another group due to the board's failure to make a decision.”

Attempts to reach Solomon on Wednesday for comment on the pending Renaissance grant issue, the elections and his future as Mayor were unsuccessful.

Village attorney Michael Davidoff said yesterday that because the March 13 meeting was cancelled due to a winter storm, deputy mayor Weyer called for a special meeting to be held on March 19th for the board to take action on the March 13th agenda. Lymon reported to the Village Clerk that she could not make the meeting because it was the night before her important election and Rue reportedly had an emergency and also could not attend.

Rue, on her website, said: "My intent was to try to accommodate Jill Weyer's change in the meeting time, but an afternoon emergency at my home prevented me. Mayor Doug Solomon has a severe illness in his family, so he too had to cancel. Trustee Aleta Lymon decided not to attend the meeting, as I understand, because personal attacks on social media caused her to reconsider her priorities. The explanation I received was that she decided to spend the afternoon and evening on the night before Election Day communicating with the real voters in the Village instead of appearing at Village Hall in response to one Trustee's arbitrary summons. I thought her decision made sense. No one told us that Renaissance wished to have immediate action on the grant matter until Jill's proposed meeting time was past."