COMIDA, the County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency, is back almost to full strength.
County Legislature President Anthony Daniele on Tuesday had recommended the appointment of four people to the volunteer board, to fill the vacancies created when several members of the board resigned last month over the controversy concerning how the I-Square project was being handled.
Daniele says he received interest from 26 people and narrowed that down to four, including Anthony Meleo, who works for BOCES and has 25 years in the construction industry; Daniel Kuntz, a local labor official; Peter Buckley, a project executive at DGA Builders, and Brian DiNardo who works in the commercial real estate industry. The appointments of Meleo, Kuntz and Buckley were approved by the county legislature Tuesday night; reportedly DiNardo withdrew his name from consideration just before the vote was taken.
Daniele says two of the appointees are Democrats, (Kuntz & Buckley), one is registered with the Independence Party (Meleo) and the fourth is a member of the Conservative Party, (DiNardo, who pulled his name from consideration).
"None of them are really that closely tied to their political party, however it was a point of sensitivity, I certainly wanted to make sure that the board members had a diverse background, didn't seem like they were politically locked in, in any way," Daniele told WXXI News.
Daniele will still need to nominate someone for the last vacancy.
Daniele says technically, the board could have voted on projects with just three members, but he’d rather see all those positions filled.
"A well-qualified and full board at COMIDA is an important aspect and so at this point I am encouraged and hopeful that COMIDA can move forward with the vital tasks of economic development in Monroe County and I'm confident that they'll do so."
The County Legislature voted unanimously to approve the three board members Tuesday night.
