Monday night’s Grand island Town Board meeting boiled over into shouts of “cowards” and booing directed at Town Board members. Supervisor James H. Pax gaveling for order and four members of the audience being ejected under police escort.

The unruly session ended with a victory for Pax in a contest with fellow Republican Councilman James R. Sharpe over competing plans for a Town Center business hub development.

Sharpe found himself isolated on the all-GOP board by the votes of the four other members, Andrea L. Moreau, Richard W. Crawford Jr., Mary S. Cooke and Pax.

Ejected from the meeting after being ruled out of order by Paz for refusing to stop speaking and ignoring orders to sit down, were John C. Lexo, John Simon, Jack Hugill and Rus Thompson

Pax ordered town Police Officer John Thompson to escort the four out of the Town Hall courtroom where meeting~- ate held.

Pax, with backing from Town Attorney William P. Wiles, said Town Board rules restricted public comment to a time allotted at the end of the meeting.

Sharpe’s motion for a suspension of the rules to allow the four to speak on the, question of ‘planning for the Town Center project failed to get a second.

That’s when shouts of “cowards” were hurled at the board.

The feud came down to a choice between Paz’s proposal to engage the architecture and planning departments of the Graduate School of the University at Buffalo to plan the Town Center along Grand Island Boulevard, and Sharpe’s proposal to hire a private planner to. work at the, direction of a new town Business Council and the Chamber of Commerce.

The ultimate cost of the two proposals is in dispute.

Sharpe’s attempt at a compromise calling for involving both UB and private planners also failed.