F. Peter (Pete) Balonek of Elba was honored Monday night at the Elba Town Board meeting for his 33 years of service on the Zoning Board of Appeals. The instructor at SUNY Brockport and locally renowned strawberry farmer served as chairman of the ZBA for the past 15 of those years. 

He is retiring so he can spend winters in Florida.

Town Supervisor Lucine Kauffman presented him with a plaque and a hug, saying, "We may be able to fill your vacant position, but we'll never find anyone to replace you."

Balonek described his time serving on the board as "interesting."

"The most challenging part," he said, "is when you're emotionally involved. Once there was, I guess you could call it, a neighbor confrontation, and I had to be the mediator. So that was difficult."

"He's a good guy, a fair guy," said Wade Chamberlin, town council liaison to the ZBA.  "He's a good leader. He'll be hard to replace."