GEORGETOWN – Rachel Therrien, the Chair, Vice Chair and long-time member of the Conservation Commission (ConCom), will no longer bring her extensive knowledge and experience on conservation issues to benefit the town. She was ousted on a vote of four to zero with one abstention. She was replaced by a former SelectBoard Chair who has never served on the ConCom.
Therrien was the only person present out of the three candidates, but not invited to speak to the board to advocate for her reappointment, which she wanted to do. Chair Doug Dawes said it was his decision not to let Therrien speak because he did not want “controversy.” Breaking tradition, he did not reach out to Therrien who was one of just five members of the near-empty audience, only two of whom were female. It was clear that the only way she could have addressed the board was to interrupt the meeting. The Town Common offered Therrien a chance to speak to the public through the following “exit interview.” In these articles, 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.
In this article, she shared her perspective on the elected and appointed officials who run Georgetown. In this segment of her ‘Exit Interview,’ 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 her thoughts on the future of Georgetown.
You served until this year on the SelectBoard, what is your opinion of the current members and the Town Administrator? Dawes, the current chair (he has been chair before, to the detriment of the Conservation Commission every time), has done nothing to stop the controversies he laments. It was within Dawes’ power when he chaired the Selectboard before to protect the 17-year veteran conservation agent who was run out of Town Hall by the Town Administrator. Now former SelectBoard chair Amy Smith shared responsibility with Dawes for not protecting a town employee.
Dawes, who more than 100 residents asked to resign in a petition that was never considered by the SelectBoard. Dawes objected to me, as a SelectBoard member, commenting or voting on any conservation issues, yet he turns frequently to Michael Donahue, chair of the Parks and Recreation Commission, to ask his opinion on any recreation issues that come to the SelectBoard.
Rob Hoover ran for re-election without telling the voters he planned to take an extended leave of absence immediately after being sworn in again, due to medical reasons he knew about prior to the vote. He has attended only one meeting (via Zoom) and that was to vote that I not be re-
appointed.
In our many conversations, Rob stated frequently that he doesn’t have the bandwidth to deal with anything he doesn’t want to deal with. He allowed another member of the SelectBoard to attack me for more than a year without trying to enforce the long-term practice of members not attacking one another, which is in the SelectBoard handbook.
Only when certain members of the community and the board started attacking him, as chair, did he lose his composure, shout repeatedly with veins nearly popping, and have a member of the public escorted by the Police Chief out of a public meeting. Said member of the public had been given permission to speak – until he criticized the chair.
Laura Repplier served as an admin. and a member of the ConCom for nine years, but still doesn’t respect nor understand what the Commission does. She does not seem to adhere to an understanding of how the commission is run, nor what the commissioner’s job is, including our past two agents, and our past admin. She would do well to remember those things, so as to serve Georgetown in a higher capacity.
Michael Donohue has spent many years attacking me. When he made the complaints against me, he lived in Georgetown, but what he complained about, were parts and pieces of what occurred before he resided here, and was only given to him as hearsay, after the fact. Town Counsel told him and another member of the public, that his diatribe was merely his opinion. He has wasted, in my opinion and that of others, taxpayers’ and constituents’ time and money. It was time much better used to fix the towns issues and infrastructure.
I had so much faith in Ed Dobie, who I had the pleasure of serving with while on the CPC. I am not amused that he abstained after telling me I had his vote and just wants the controversy in the town to die down.
Ed, it can’t subside unless you remove those who have perpetuated said attacks, harassment and tactics and have created said controversies and issues within the town. This is part of your job as a seated member of the SelectBoard which you ran for.
The TA was hired under Doug Dawes and Amy Smith, who admitted she did not even do Google search of his background, where there is a lot of information … She stated, “everyone deserves a second chance,” an opportunity she did not give ConCom members, chairs, or staff.
The TA was recommended by a former selectman, David Twiss, who now serves on several boards even though he and the TA went to school together, and there were approximately 10 other extremely qualified candidates for the position vacated by retiring TA Mike Farrell.
The TA’s attacks on volunteers and members of the community that he thinks go unknown by residents ends with me.
Georgetown, it has been a pleasure to serve you. I have done my best. The only way this town will change is to have volunteers who will stand up to the dirty politics with fight and tenacity seen very rarely in this town. Good luck! ♦ More to come…
