BY ANDY GARDNER
North Country This Week

MASSENA -- The town supervisor wants to see if the town can come up with a hold-harmless agreement to prevent members of appointed boards from suing the town.

"One thing I would like, and I'll bring it up to (town attorney) Eric Gustafson, for members that serve on the different boards in the town, I'm going to see if we can get some sort of agreement to hold us harmless and not sue us," Town Supervisor Steve O'Shaughnessy said at the Wednesday, Sept. 18 Town Council meeting. "We had a board member here sue us."

Although no one on the board mentioned her by name, former Massena Memorial Hospital Board of Managers chair Sue Bellor received legal representation after O'Shaughnessy announced in January that he was firing her from the Massena Memorial Hospital board. That ended up costing the town $10,000, the supervisor said.

"She turned a bill over to the hospital and they turned it over to us," he said at the meeting.

Bellor said the hospital hired an attorney to represent her because the supervisor was attempting to fire her without giving her the hearing to which she is entitled under state law.

"No I didn't (hire attorney Bob Germain). It was the hospital," Bellor said.

“This is actually outrageous and our board condemns this. Our attorney will be responding," MMH Director of Public Relations and Planning Tina Corcoran said at the time. She made that statement on Jan. 4, the same day that the supervisor publically announced he wanted to fire Bellor. At the time, Corcoran added that municipal law says the supervisor can remove a board member, and board members are entitled to a hearing before being fired.

Bellor's hearing was announced Jan. 14, after Bellor had gotten legal counsel. The hearing took place Jan. 22. O'Shaughnessy officially fired her Jan. 23. The attorney also represented Bellor at a subsequent appeal before a New York state judge, a procedure to which the former MMH chair was also entitled under state law. The judge upheld O'Shaughnessy's decision.

The town's boards that run institutions like the Massena Public Library, MMH, Massena Electric Department and town museum are made up of volunteer members appointed by the town supervisor. He can also remove them before the end of their terms, but generally does not.

"I appreciate all the volunteers do but I don't appreciate the lawsuit," O'Shaughnessy said at the Wednesday, Sept. 18 meeting.

Shortly after being fired from the MMH board, Bellor and retired MMH administrator Bob Elsner announced they would run for Town Council. They have both secured Republican nominations and will appear on the November ballot. They are challenging Democrat incumbent Melanie Cunningham and Democrat newcomer Loren Fountaine. Two seats are up for election. Councilor Tom Miller, a Democrat incumbent, is not running for another term.