Marion officials will seek town counsel's opinion on a Planning Board request to allow its members to participate remotely in meetings via telephone, Internet or satellite.

Under state rules, elected officials can participate remotely in meetings when certain factors make the member's physical attendance unreasonably difficult, such as illness, personal disability, emergency situations, military service or geographic distance.

Speaking at the Selectmen meeting Tuesday night, Planning Board Chair Robert Lane said that rarely are all seven members of the Planning Board present at their meetings due to travel, illness and other factors.

"I'd like to see us take advantage of assets that all members bring," he said.

Lane said the Planning Board would like a one-year trial of allowing remote meeting participation, after which the board would subjectively determine whether it has been used reasonably or not. He added that he is confident members are mature enough not to abuse this privilege.

Town Administrator Paul Dawson said he doesn't think there would be a problem with this request, but said he would have town counsel review the request to ensure there are no issues. He'd also have town counsel explore whether limitations or restrictions could be placed on such remote participation.

"We wouldn't want someone to join a board and never be at any of the meetings," said Select Chair Stephen Cushing.

Also, town counsel would need to determine if it interferes with the Mullin rule, which allows members to review video of any one meeting they miss to remain eligible to vote on an ongoing action item, Dawson said.

Overall, Dawson said remote meeting participation is feasible, whether members join in by phone, Skype or another web-based application.

"There is no doubt we can accomplish it easily. It makes sense. All can take advantage of this from time to time," he said.

He added Selectmen approval "would affect all boards, not just one."

Selectmen will formally act on the request at their next meeting.

In other news: Selectmen acknowledged the passing of two individuals – Finance Committee member Hamish Gravem and former harbormaster George Jennings.