The Mineola Village Board appointed resident and school teacher Donna Solosky to fill Richard Kotowski’s seat on the board of zoning appeals on Feb. 4. Kotowski was named temporary chairman during the search for a permanent replacement for John Macedo, who stepped down in December. Solosky’s first meeting on the BZA is Feb. 26.
“I’m sure she’ll enjoy it,” Mayor Scott Strauss said. “She’s active in the village in a quiet way. She’s very interested in what goes on. I converse with her regularly on topics of the village. I appreciate her input. She expressed interest and I’d like to give her an opportunity.”
Solosky was unreachable for comment. The move comes three months after Macedo stepped down to tend to family matters. He was on the Mineola BZA for more than 20 years.
“I’ve been in public service pretty much for my adult life,” Macedo said. “If I took care of [my family duties] as chairman, I’d be depriving the public of my services and so I said ‘let’s stop. It’s not fair to Mineola.’”
Macedo also worked as the Town of North Hempstead’s code enforcement director since 1980. Prior to that, he worked in the town’s planning and building departments.
“Thankfully Mr. Macedo is not moving, just stepping down from the board,” Strauss said at the time. “A highly respected resident, he’s helped a lot in Mineola. It’s sad to see him leave.”
