Manorhaven trustees leave over attorneys

Board dispute of mayor’s appointment causes law firm to rescind contract

BY CAMERYN OAKES

The Village of Manorhaven’s Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday evening turned contentious and led to three trustees walking out of the meeting after a dispute with the mayor due to his decision to hire village attorneys from Harris Beach PLLC.

After the meeting, Mayor John Popeleski told Blank Slate Media that Harris Beach had rescinded its contract with Manorhaven and will no longer be the village’s attorneys.

He suggested that the decision was made by the law firm, saying their decision to leave the village was due to the board dispute.

“Here again they have stopped the operation of the village,” Popeleski said, referencing the trustees who challenged the village attorney appointment.

He said the board will address hiring a new village attorney at its work session on Wednesday. He said the board will be able to invite eligible attorneys to interview during an executive session the night of the meeting.

“I have pressing matters that are very time sensitive that right now I can’t discuss,” Popeleski said. “Eventually I will let the public know, but right now I got to get someone in to get go-

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At the board’s organizational meeting on July 5, Popeleski presented a resolution to appoint attorneys Jared Kasschau and Brian Stolar as the village’s attorneys. Both attorneys are with Harris Beach PLLC, a New Yorkbased law firm.

Deputy Mayor Harry Farina asked the board to table the resolution as he was not ready to move forward with a vote. He said that he had met with Stolar and they had “never had a good connection.”

No vote was taken on the resolution at the organizational meeting.

Stolar was present at the meeting Wednesday night as the village attorney.

Trustee Khristine Shahipour said she is concerned about the appointment of the village’s attorneys.

She said that since the board never voted on the resolution to appoint the attorneys, there is no contract or retainer between the attorneys and the village. She said Stolar confirmed this via an email on Monday.

Popeleski said he had signed a retainer with Harris Beach and that he has the power to appoint who he wants to legally serve the village.

“So we’re nothing here?” Shahi-

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