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Video-Count: 1
Video-1: youtube.com/watch?v=qeb_BxPx_Jw

Part: 1

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Thank you, T-Cam. It's now 6:30 p.m. Good evening, everybody. My name is Andrew Shepherd, chair of the Town of Townsend Planning Board. I call this meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. I'd like to have a roll call of all the board members present. We'll go clockwise.

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Please say your name for the record. >> Cindy King is present. >> Carol Houlihan is present. >> Curt King present. >> Robert Varney present. >> Andrew Shepherd present. Would you please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. >> [clears throat] >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the

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republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> I would like to thank all of our veterans, those who are currently serving here and abroad, their families, and those who contribute their time to public service. We owe them our

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gratitude. This meeting is being recorded and will be uploaded to the Town of Townsend YouTube channel. So, we'll jump right into uh item 2.1. Uh 2.1 is to review and respond to

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review and respond to the open meeting law complaint filed by Heidi Ash against the Planning Board with the alleged violation dated May 11th, 2026. So, has everybody had a chance? >> Yes. >> I I want to be uh

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uh respectful, but also careful that we have an ongoing public hearing. So, there's there's particulars to the complaint that reference a hearing, and we want to talk about the hearing only in the hearing. But, we can talk, I think, in general, if we need to about the complaint, but I

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just want to say that out loud up front. So, >> Do we just want to read the response and >> Yeah, I I think that's >> think we Yeah, we all we all know what the complaint is. >> Everyone had a chance to review the complaint? Okay. So, uh do you have, Cindy, the copy of the response? >> do, somewhere in here.

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>> If you don't mind if the clerk uh reading it. >> All [laughter] right. Dear Ms. Ash, the planning board held a meeting >> [clears throat] >> excuse me on June 1st, 2026 to review and respond to the open meeting law complaint you

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filed on May 15th, 2026 regarding an alleged incident on May 11th, 2026. At the May 11th, 2026 planning board meeting, the board adjourned and board members and members of the public left the meeting room. Your complaint alleges that one member

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of the planning board engaged in a conversation with you outside of the meeting room after the meeting had adjourned. There is no allegation that any other planning board members participated in this conversation. The open meeting law applies only to meetings of the public body where a

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quorum is present and deliberates on matters within the body's jurisdiction. The conduct of an individual board member outside of a properly posted meeting does not constitute a meeting under the open meeting law. Since a quorum of the planning board did not participate in a deliberation on

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matters within their jurisdiction, no violation of the open meeting law occurred. The planning board therefore determined that no violation of the open meeting law occurred and no further actions or remedies are needed. Sincerely, Andrew Shepherd, Chair, Town of Huntington

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Planning Board, Town of Huntington. >> Thank Cindy. So, I'd like to just go around and you have the draft decision or proposed decision as of now, but see if there's any comments or questions from the board members. >> I'm I move that we I Cindy Kay move that

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we um submit this this draft response as the response to the open meeting law complaint. >> Okay. >> I know second that motion. >> Yeah, the motion is second. Now we're in discussion. I do want to make sure we go around on a motion. So, just any additional comments or questions?

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>> Who determined it wasn't a violation? >> [clears throat] >> Did Did we talk to counsel? >> She >> [laughter] >> Beth had talked to counsel, but if you read the open meeting uh law of violent >> Half of it. I didn't get a chance to read the whole >> The The It's in the response here that

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if um we didn't have a quorum of the planning board members and the meeting was adjourned, there is no It only applies to during the actual meeting with a quorum of the planning board. Meeting The meeting had adjourned.

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The meeting was had adjourned, and it was only one member that held a conversation. So, because it wasn't it wasn't a meeting and there was no quorum, therefore there was no violation of the open meeting law.

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>> So, maybe Beth, I don't Would you mind providing any color if you talked to counsel or talked about Kieran? Um >> [laughter] >> You're on mute. >> Uh no, this this suggestion was basically from staff. Yeah, staff review

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uh conversations with staff. So, yes. Uh there was no need to contact counsel uh because it was pretty clearly not an open my an open meeting law violation in the opinion of staff. >> Got it. Okay.

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>> Yeah, and and I'll say that um I have to take credit for being one who has filed my share of open meeting law complaints against boards in the town. And uh I've become pretty familiar with the open meeting law and all of its particulars. And I'll say that

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definitely you have to have a quorum. You have The open meeting law violations that occur often occur because you had a quorum of a of a meeting quorum of a board outside of a meeting. So, if three people had been in this

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conversation, then it would have been a I would have say, "Yep, that's a violation." And And if I felt that this is violation, I would sit here and say, "Yes, we it was." And we could do apologies and remedies and carry on. But, um this

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this allegation only involved one member of the planning board. And the meeting had adjourned and we had departed. So, um this has no relation to the planning board um [clears throat] or or anybody. Um

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So, I mean, this this is correct that there's no there's no violation [clears throat] of the open meeting law. If you read the um both the open meeting law as well as the um there's a CMR, I think it's 940 CMR 29, that goes into more detail on how to determine what the rules are on the open

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meeting law. You can uh you can check that, but there's there's no there's no violation. >> Well, Brett, we're on you. I don't know if you have any more thoughts or questions. >> Can I bring up something that happened to me? Or is that not >> I don't know. >> It's kind of

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>> I I I guess my hope would be that we we'd try to be brief and focused. But >> Is it Is it Is it Is [laughter] it >> So, it's kind of in regard It's in regards to this. >> Okay, so long as it's within that >> I had an anonymous complaint to me one time and like

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when I was on this board and like there was an uproar that someone made an anonymous complaint to me and I brought it up to this board that someone made an anonymous complaint. And it was the worst thing that ever happened. And it was on this project.

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And I I I mean, you were you uh Cindy, you weren't you weren't >> Yeah, I was trying to remember. But, it wasn't a formal but it wasn't a formal complaint. >> It wasn't even a formal complaint. >> And that's not an open meeting law thing, either. >> Well, I was threatened that it was an open meeting law violation when I didn't

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divulge any information. I just said, "I don't know what's going on on that project." >> Okay, it was probably not on the agenda. >> Yeah. >> Yeah, no, it was not. No, it was not. >> That would be a violation then. >> Yes. It is a if if you did because the

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finance committee was we got an open violation law on the finance committee because we discussed something that was not on the agenda. So, that does constitute a That's why you got a meeting law. So, if you don't stick to the agenda and you start talking about

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something other than what's on the agenda, that is something >> It wasn't even Someone called me on my personal time on my personal >> when you bring it up at a meeting, if it's not on the agenda for that anonymous complaint, if you start present something, it's not on the >> the I asked the question. I said, "What

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do I do if this happens again?" That was >> Oh, okay. >> Cuz I don't >> Yeah. >> I don't want to >> I think I think in in good faith, I think it's worth it. I know Beth has prepared something that at a future meeting, we'll talk more about how those things come about. >> Sure. Yeah, sure. I'm going to

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>> Yeah, but part of the process [clears throat] for us as board members is best best practices for us. And the spirit of this and moving this along, Good. Fred, I don't know if you have any more thoughts or questions. Robert, I'll open it up to you if you have any. >> I am abstaining cuz I'm the subject of this.

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Um I I looked over the open meeting law. I don't consider myself an expert on it, but I I From what I read, it does not require legal review. It looks at us to make a decision on the action. >> [clears throat] >> And then if you know, it it gets shared with the

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Attorney General's office and um if any additional steps need to be had on so. I don't have an issue with the the draft premise that um the purpose of open meeting law is to prohibit unwarranted meetings from

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happening. And this was about uh one individual in one place um making some comments. So, I don't consider that a meeting, so I'm okay with the the nature of the response. So, we've had a motion, we've had a second, we've

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had discussion. I'd like to go around for a roll call vote. >> Cindy King, yes. >> Carol Office, yes. >> Brett King, no. >> No. >> Abstain. >> Abstention. And Andrew Shepherd, yes. So, that's three yeses, one no, and one abstention. Okay. Um

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So, I think that that covers 2.1. Um that will get sent to the um I believe the complaint and the attorney general's office, and there was a >> [clears throat] >> Our next meeting

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is supposed to be June 8th. Is that next week? >> It sure is. >> Beth, has that been postponed, or is that we still have next week? Oh. >> Yeah, the schedule's post the agenda has been posted. Yes. >> Okay. Okay. So, we we have next um June 8th, and then uh we have an

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additional meeting June 22nd, and then July 13th, and July 27th. Okay. Um So, that covers the meeting business for tonight. I'd like to entertain a motion to adjourn. >> [clears throat] >> So moved.

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>> I'll second it. >> Uh roll call vote. >> Cindy King, yes. >> Oh, Cindy King says so moved. >> Close. >> Yeah, >> [clears throat] >> moved, second it. >> Yep. >> Uh entertain a vote. >> Okay. >> For adjournment. >> Okay. >> Cindy King, yes. >> Carol Office, yes. >> Brett King, yes.

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>> Robert King, yes. >> All right. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you, T.K. >> Thank you.