GEORGETOWN – Rachel
Therrien, the Chair, Vice Chair and long-time member of the Conservation Commission (ConCom) was not reappointed to serve the town. She is being replaced by a former SelectBoard Chair who has never served on the ConCom.
Therrien was not invited to speak to the board to advocate for her reappointment, which she wanted to do, although she was present and requested to speak. Chair Doug Dawes said it was his decision not to let Therrien speak because he did not want “controversy.”
The Town Common offered Therrien a chance to speak to the public through the following “Exit Interview.” Residents of Georgetown and the SelectBoard can read her views on the future of the ConCom and its independent enforcement of town regulation of the local bylaw, state wetlands and endangered species laws.
She also shared her perspective on the constant attacks against the ConCom, which have occurred under four consecutive SelectBoard chairs. Two of these former SelectBoard chairs now serve on the ConCom, a board the SelectBoard has sought to control.
In the second of three articles, former Chair Rachel Therrien, who has been on the inside of town government for more than a decade, shares with Stewart Lytle, senior reporter, and the public some of what goes on behind closed doors.
After more than a dozen years on the ConCom, how effective do you think the commission will be in the future? I don’t have much faith that it will be effective. We don’t have the professional staff and are constantly being undercut by the SelectBoard and especially the Town Administrator, who appears to call the shots. Our most recent agent was fired by the TA without the Commission’s knowledge or consent, or that of the SelectBoard. Michele Grenier was recorded saying that the TA should do his job and used a not-nice adjective.
He shot off a heat-seeking missile and fired her via e-mail, which he still hasn’t revealed how HE has the power to do that! And the SelectBoard won’t even meet to discuss Michele’s firing. They let the TA do whatever he wants with no oversight. According to Amy Smith, when the SelectBoard hired Pacheco to be the town administrator, it gave him the authority of a town manager, contrary to the town’s charter. The stories I could, and perhaps Will someday, tell….
The two members who were appointed to the ConCom did not respect the SelectBoard process enough to appear at their appointment and reappointment. One member, who has never served on the ConCom, once advocated that the town get rid of poison ivy at the Community Gardens by burning it. Her poison ivy burning idea was dangerous and ignorant, as Chairman Shreder and I told her. The ConCom saved the surrounding neighborhoods from respiratory harm.
Also, she asked for the taxpayers-supported CPC to pay for lunch and travel money for her supposed wildflower expert from western Mass when we have so much talent in our town. And there is an entirely free national program, which provides native planting plans that Ida Wye and I started in Georgetown.
As chair of the SelectBoard, Amy Smith did more damage to the ConCom than any other chair in my recollection. For that, she was rewarded with a seat on the commission she tried to destroy. She’s a bully, described as a female version of Sherlock Holmes’ opponent James Moriarty, but without his intelligence.
When she was the SelectBoard Chair, I had to hire an attorney because she threatened me that she could “compel” me to do what she ordered. The SelectBoard chair has no such power, but she said if I didn’t do as she commanded, things would “get ugly” for me.
The Select Board is not supposed to bully and harass. Being on the SelectBoard myself, I know that any member who acts or thinks that is how an elected official should behave is a detriment to independent boards and commissions and to the whole town.
Why is the Conservation Bylaw so important? The Conservation bylaw, regulations and state regulations are there for a reason and must be upheld. It protects the town and keeps homes and businesses from flooding and other events that would result in millions of dollars in lawsuits.
We cannot have an agent, even an interim agent, who does not know how to post a meeting and runs to the TA for instructions rather than to the Commission. Under state law, the Commission has the power to direct its agent, not the TA.
What challenges do you see the Commission facing in the future? How will these challenges affect the town? I want to believe that the Commission can recover from those who have tried to decimate it. There is a steep learning curve for what we have to do. The bylaw and regulations are highly complex and technical. A toothless commission that has no institutional knowledge or even knows where the open spaces in town are cannot enforce the bylaw.
A member of the “now” ConCom chose to disregard a 24-year member of the commission, who helped write the bylaw to help her friends and supporters.
What else would you like to share with our readers? It is greatly disappointing that the leadership of Georgetown would rather “go in a different direction,” as the SelectBoard Chair said, than have the Commission have members and staff who have actual knowledge and a budget to enforce the bylaw effectively. Many seem to think that based on past comments by the chair, who is a Realtor, that “different direction” means rubber-stamping anything real estate developers want to do. Remember, he was the advocate for the marijuana businesses in town, and we still can’t find where the money went.
We used to have a staff person at the window to answer residents’ questions. The agent spent half of her/his time in the office answering questions and the other half meeting with applicants at the sites.
We have members on the Commission now who have zero knowledge of how the Commission works or the fundamentals of the process. There is a reason why there is oversight and multi-step processes, so projects are not just rammed through and rubberstamped.
We tried to work with every applicant, who will not be happy 100 percent of the time. Some things residents want to do are illegal and not permissible under state and local laws.
As chair, I did what was requested of me by the SelectBoard chair Rob Hoover to make things move more smoothly. That was my mistake to think that he had the best interests of the town, the ConCom or the taxpayers at heart. The Commission, according to certain members of the SelectBoard, including the current and former chairs, has a reputation of being difficult to work with. But when you ask them for specifics, they speak with venom, refuse to give documentation and just say we need to move along, “look to the future.” I have tried to use my training and my knowledge to move forward. I despise hidden agendas and sugary vague political talk to lure voters into a false sense of security, when I know and have seen things are different.
The Commission meets to discuss and review only the larger and more difficult projects, or projects that require special attention to ensure the applicant is provided with all the resources the town can provide to do things efficiently and timely. The Commission is here to help, but yes, we have a policing role of the state and local laws, that requires attention. We have the authority to issue enforcement letters, which we try to do sparingly and work with the applicant.
Next Week. The Town Common’s Exit Interview with Rachel Therrien gives her perspective on the elected and appointed leadership of Georgetown.
