AG: No Open Meeting Law Violation by Williamstown Planning Board
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The attorney general's office determined there is no evidence of an Open Meeting Law violation by members of the Planning Board with respect to its deliberations on the Waubeeka Golf Links zoning bylaw earlier this year.
In a letter dated Monday and posted on the AGO's website, Assistant Attorney General Kevin W. Manganaro writes that "we find that the Board did not violate the Open Meeting Law.
"In reaching a determination, we reviewed the original complaint, the Board's response, and the request for further review filed with our office. We also reviewed the minutes of two Board meetings held on April 28 and May 4. Finally, we reviewed e-mail correspondence between Board member Ann McCallum and Director of Community Development Andrew Groff, dated May 2."
The complaint was filed by resident David Leja, who alleged three members of the five-person board met in private and "worked with a group of individuals, including an abutter attorney, to draft an amendment related to a proposed Waubeeka Golf Club Inn [sic] project."
The Planning Board made a formal response to the complaint in May, shortly after it was filed. At the time, the board decided there was no violation, a determination confirmed by the AGO this week.
The ruling from Boston puts a coda on a particularly turbulent and, at times, nasty 2016 town election season.
Spurred by the controversy over a proposed bylaw at the South Williamstown golf course, there were two contested races for the Planning Board.
One of the candidates, Sarah Gardner, was accused by name of violating the OML in the complaint, timed and released to the media just before town election day.
Gardner ended up losing her bid for a five-year seat on the Planning Board by a margin of 811-681, a difference of 54 percent to 46 percent.
Of the other two planners named in the complaint, Elizabeth McGowan was not standing for re-election, and Ann McCallum, whose term was not expiring, continues to serve on the board.
When the Planning Board considered the OML complaint, days after the election, Gardner speculated about its purpose.
"[Leja] stated that he was encouraged to file this, and I'd like to know who encouraged him because it was clearly timed to come out on election day," Gardner said.
A request to Planning Board Chairwoman Amy Jeschawitz for comment was not immediately returned.
Williamstown Planning Board Open Meeting Law Findings: OML_09212016 by iBerkshires.com on Scribd
Tags: open meeting complaint, Planning Board, waubeeka,
