Mullins Retires From Planning Board After 17 Years

Tuesday marked the first time in a long time that Judy Mullins' nameplate was not displayed during a Planning Board meeting.

Mullins, who has given 17 years of service to the board, gave notice that she was stepping down from her post. Mullins was the board's chair last year.

Mullins was not present at Tuesday's meeting, where board members said they would miss her and thanked her for her time.

"Ms. Mullins has resigned from the Planning Board," Planning Board Chairman Steve Tombalakian said at the beginning of the meeting.

"I rejected it," he went on to say jokingly. "I said 'who would do our landscaping?' She said, 'you guys have listened to me long enough to know what you're doing.' "

Mullins had said previously that she expected to step down after the board had finished with a couple of applications she had been involved with from the beginning, in particular the Greenwood Property Group's application for 122 Main St. Tombalakian said she and Greg Reed–who had stepped down earlier this year directly after the original vote to approve the plan–both felt it was important to be fair to the applicants to make sure they didn't have to deal with new faces.

"Judy Mullins was an excellent board chair and always offered thoughtful commentary, was prepared to listen and work, offered well conceived suggestions and was never intimidated by even the most persistent of applicants' attorneys," said Mayor Mary-Anna Holden, who also serves on the board. "She always has had the best interest of Madison's character at heart. Her knowledge of plant materials, trees and landscaping will be greatly missed at the board. I personally have learned a lot from her."

Tombalakian also referred to Mullins' expertise in landscaping, and noted that she started the Friends of Madison Shade Trees.

"She's going to be sorely missed," Tombalakian said. "She gives so much to the town."