MALONE - The Franklin County Legislature unanimously passed a resolution Thursday that ratifies Legislator Paul Maroun's signing of the Adirondack Club and Resort Mediation Agreement.

The nonbinding agreement came from developers out of a confidential mediation process that was an attempt to come to a consensus on the project, which would reopen the former Big Tupper Ski Area and develop a substantial amount of land around it with up to 600 housing units, a marina and a restaurant. The mediation was a sideline of the state Adirondack Park Agency permitting process.

Maroun, R-Tupper Lake, who is seeking the Republican endorsement for the congressional seat expected to soon be vacated by U.S. Rep. John McHugh, called the agreement "a baseline agreement," a list of alterations made to the original project plans that he expected to change as the project goes back into a state adjudicatory hearing.

In addition to the APA, the project still requires permits from the state Department of Health and the Tupper Lake Planning Board.

Maroun let the Enterprise borrow his copy of the agreement, saying, "I have nothing to hide." The document is a three-ring binder full of papers and maps regarding the resort project, submitted by the development group, Preserve Associates.

Since the existence of the agreement was made public, the Enterprise and other media have submitted numerous requests for it, citing the state Freedom of Information Law, to the government agencies that signed on to the agreement or had access to a copy of it. The village and town of Tupper Lake denied the requests, citing a confidentiality agreement in the mediation process. Franklin County denied a request as well, but because it said it was not in possession of a copy of the agreement. Maroun has said he initially showed his fellow legislators his copy instead of submitting a copy for the county records.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation has not yet responded to an Enterprise request, other than to say its people are looking into it.

County Legislator Tim Burpoe, D-Saranac Lake, said he was invited to be a party to the mediation but decided not to because he was uncomfortable with signing the confidentiality agreement that was required to participate. He said he was conflicted, though.

"If you're not in the room, you're not going to be able to influence the outcome," Burpoe said.

Burpoe said the county may want to pass a resolution in the future that bans legislators from agreeing to confidentiality pacts, but he cautioned that it could keep legislators from participating in important negotiations.

Though he voted in favor of the resolution supporting Maroun signing the agreement, Burpoe said he came to the meeting with the idea that he would abstain from voting. He said that after Maroun explained to him that the agreement is only a baseline that developers will work from, he felt comfortable approving it.

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Contact Jessica Collier at 891-2600 ext. 25 or jcollier@adirondackdailyenterprise.com.