SPRINGFIELD _ David Staley will preside over his final meeting as chairman of the Springfield planning board next week.

Staley announced back in January that he would be stepping down in December and, after a year in which the planning board dealt with development on five percent of the town’s land and began several long-term planning initiatives, he intends to stick with that decision.

"I’m glad to be done," Staley said Tuesday. "It’s an incredible demand on my time. Throw that on top of my career and family and around the house projects and it’s just too much."

Despite the workload, Staley said he thought it was a good way to serve the town and that everyone should do something for their community.

Although Thursday’s planning board meeting _ scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Springfield community center _ will be the last Staley chairs, it won’t be the exact end of his tenure. He said he’ll still have to prepare the annual report and set things up for the board’s meeting in January. Shortly after that meeting begins however, Staley said he’ll turn it over to his successor.

Staley will remain on the planning board as a member and continue to serve as vice-chair of the comprehensive planning committee. He’s been on the planning board since 2003 and served as chairman for the past two years.

Staley said he fell into the position after "naively" assuming the role of vice-chair in January of 2005 before a chairman was chosen.

When no one on the planning board stepped up to take the chair’s position, Staley _ in accordance with the board’s bylaws _ assumed the duties of the chair. In February, he asked the board to vote him in as chair, figuring that if he was going to do the position’s work, he might as well have the title.

The planning board chair position is unpaid and involves numerous responsibilities. Staley said the chairman’s main responsibilities include running the board’s monthly meetings, receiving site plan and subdivision applications for anyone with plans, maintaining files, completing applications and answering questions residents have about planning board processes.

"You tend to be the funnel," Staley said.

Additionally, Staley said he tried to expand the amount of energy the board spent on larger planning efforts.

Discussion related to those efforts led the planning board to recommend that the town board enact a moratorium on major development and produce a comprehensive plan, a process which is now underway.

Staley said getting the town moving on some of the larger initiatives was "definitely something I feel best about having done."

"The comprehensive plan is really an important first step to _ in a very democratic way _ decide where we want to go," he said.

Planning board member Mary Clarke will most likely step in and chair the board after Staley vacates the position in January.

Clarke has been on the planning board for nearly a year and has chaired the meetings on two occasions when Staley was not present. She said she’s looking forward to the job, but still has a lot to learn.

She said she would like to continue moving forward with some of the initiatives started under Staley, like development of a comprehensive plan, and would like to see the town hire a code enforcement officer and adopt a board of appeals.

"I think if we can get those things done (in addition to the monthly tasks), that would be terrific," Clarke said. She said the town ought to thank Staley for the excellent job he’s done over the past two years and that he will be a tough act to follow.