GEORGETOWN – The town’s SelectBoard (BOS) and Conservation Commission (ConCom) met last week in hopes of burying the hatchet between the two boards, discussing three issues that have caused tensions.
But the meeting was barely over when old animosities resurfaced. Several officials said they included calls for Rachel Therrien, a BOS member and chair of the ConCom, to resign her positions because she said the ConCom had “voted” in favor of holding its meetings as both on Zoom and in person.
At a September meeting, Therrien asked the ConCom members their opinions on how their meetings should be held. All members agreed to continue holding Zoom meetings. But there was no formal vote.
BOS Chair Robert Hoover limited the two-hour, televised discussion to three topics:
– whether meetings of all town boards should be in person, on Zoom or both,
– the access the conservation agent and ConCom members have to private property,
– mandatory use of the town’s email system.
Not on the agenda, and thus under the state Open Meeting Law, could not be discussed, was why the ConCom and particularly its chair come under frequent criticism from BOS members.
Following the meeting one repeated critic of the ConCom, resident Kevin Wood, wrote to the BOS members demanding that Therrien, (formerly Bancroft), apologize for “lying” about whether the ConCom had voted on the issue of how it holds its meetings.
SelectBoard vice chair Doug Dawes started the meeting, asking Therrien to appoint the commission’s vice chair, Amy Graffum, to be the chair for the meeting because Therrien is both the chair of the ConCom and a member of the SelectBoard.
“One cannot serve two masters,” Dawes said.
The State Ethics Commission has issued an opinion that Therrien can serve in both capacities. And other town officials, including SelectBoard member Mike Donahue, who is chair of the Parks and Recreation Commission, also serve on two boards.
Graffum pointed out that since the joint meeting last week was for discussion only and no votes were expected, Dawes’s proposal was not necessary.
Therrien agreed that she misspoke when she said the ConCom had “voted” to hold hybrid meetings. In its September meeting, the ConCom members agreed verbally to continue with Zoom meetings. As is a common practice with boards and commissions, including the BOS, the chair polled the views of the members.
At the combined BOS/ConCom meeting last week, most members agreed that hybrid meetings have several advantages. Members can attend the meetings even when they are ill or out of town.
Applicants and the town also save money by having their engineers and other technical personnel appear on Zoom at a lower cost than having them attend meetings in person at Town Hall.
Members and the public can also see architectural and construction plans and diagrams more easily if the meetings are on Zoom, members said.
Dawes noted that the legislature is considering a bill that will determine how town meetings are held, as detailed in a prior edition of The Town Common. The ConCom is following the guidelines proclaimed by Gov. Maura Healey on May 25, 2025.
The trespassing issue was the result of a site visit last year on Lakeshore Drive by the conservation agent and the then-chair of the ConCom to investigate a complaint that construction debris was being dumped in wetlands, a primary responsibility of the ConCom.
A neighbor asked Wood, a prolific filer of complaints against the Conservation Commission and who had tried twice to have the BOS appoint him to the ConCom, to file a complaint about the incident. Wood was not at the inspection, does not live in the neighborhood or have direct knowledge of the incent.
The homeowner and the neighbor declined for various reasons to file a complaint. After an inspection, no problems at the Lakeshore Drive home were found.
A town agent may walk on sidewalks and driveways without permission. The agent may not open gates without permission unless there is an emergency. It was suggested that a police officer or fire personnel should accompany the agent in the case of emergencies.
The town’s email system has been the subject of controversy for years. In the past when the town’s official email system was not working, town officials used private emails to communicate. But private emails are not captured in official town records.
The town hired a new email provider last year, and most town officials agree that the new system is improved. Town Administrator Orlando Pacheco outlined the procedure for reporting an outage, which Therrien asked Pacheco to add to the town’s website. ♦
