Veteran Planning Board member Kimry Corrette resigned during Select Board meeting public comment.
On August 1, the Select Board held a Code of Conduct (CoC) hearing against Planning Board Chair Paul Whitmarsh but voted 4-0 to dismiss charges. However, the Board blocked Whitmarsh’s promotion to a full voting member based on what they described as perceived bias due to the allegations from the CoC complaint hearing.
Corrette told NYFV she had not planned to resign on August 1, but after witnessing the hearing and the vote to not promote Whitmarsh, she felt she had no choice.
Corrette told the Select Board she could not afford to pay to defend herself against an allegation related to being on the Planning Board and was shocked it was a possibility.
“I'm just appalled that the idea that someone can volunteer for a town and have to pay their own lawyer’s fees. There is no way I'm letting having to defend myself to serve the town that I live in take away from my children's college fund!”
Now, she’s anxious about repercussions. Corrette mentioned concern about the impact publicly voicing her opinion will have on her children or her employment.
She considers herself independent-minded and doesn’t want to be typecasted. “This is not about switching sides or joining ‘the group’.” It was about speaking out against something she feels is wrong.
An unlikely member of a planning board, Corrette is a designer. She used to work in the solar industry, but says, “I love creating beautiful things.”
Corrette appreciates the people she has met while serving on the Board. “The Board is getting stronger, and I love being part of it.”
When Corrette joined the Planning Board it had multiple vacancies. She described it as being similar to an ad hoc committee. There were not very many projects to review, and members did not always show up. Things changed once North Yarmouth's growth began to increase, and the Board started to get more attention.
The Land Use Ordinance (LUO) is not easy to understand and Corrette says it takes time to learn how to apply it.
Sharing her thoughts on areas the Planning Board should focus on, she wonders if people really understand what North Yarmouth is sitting on, the aquifer. “Development and community go hand in hand.” She thinks more conversation is needed with the Yarmouth Water District. “We have 100-year flood plans. I think we need a 100-year water plan.”
She feels betrayed to know the town does not support its volunteers against “bogus” complaints.
Corrette believes the current Planning Board functions well and the Select Board missed an opportunity. “We actually came together and you undermine the authority of the board. You questioned it. That's what went wrong,”
If something doesn’t change, Corrette told the Select Board she thinks their actions will have a bigger impact. “How about, how about the Select Board and the Planning Board work together?”
Selectboard Chair Amy Haile responded by email to a request for comment and whether the Board had contacted Corrette to follow up regarding her comments. “Kimry's resignation is on our upcoming agenda. She did reach out to the Select Board to follow up on her comments at the meeting and I did respond to her on behalf of the Select Board.”
Selectperson Hodgetts told NYFV he called Corrette, independent of the Board, to ask her to reconsider her resignation. “I think she does a good job on the Planning Board. It would be a shame to lose her. She comes prepared. You can tell she knows the LUO, because she asks good questions.”
Would she consider a run for Select Board? Corrette laughed and said, “I don’t know, we’ll have to see.”