WESTON, Vt. – The Weston Selectboard was down to just three members when the most recent special meeting was held on Wednesday, Aug. 19.
Following the resignation of Selectboard Chair Denis Benson and the subsequent departure of Pam Dickman, the board’s most recent appointee, the selectboard currently finds itself in search of two new members.
Selectboard member Brian Gehlich, joined at the Aug. 19 meeting by Vice Chair Jim Linville and board member Kathleen “Katie” Moriarty-Fitzpatrick, announced that Dickman had turned in her letter of resignation and requested that it be read at the meeting. The board appointed Dickman at the April 14 meeting, after the March exit of Linda Saarnijoki.
Gehlich proceeded to read Dickman’s letter, which she addressed to “the Town of Weston,” and in which she stated, “The relationship between the selectboard and the public is mired in distrust, negativity, and drama.”
Dickman concluded, “I do appreciate the opportunity I was given, and I truly hope you succeed in finding a way to run our town in a cohesive, orderly manner.”
Upon prompting from Linville, Gehlich went on to report that road foreman Jason Hitchcock had also resigned, leaving the town without a road crew heading into the fall season.
The operations of the Weston Selectboard have come under fire lately, appearing to unravel within the past six to eight months among a handful of town officer resignations.
When Benson made the announcement of his retirement at the Aug. 11 selectboard meeting, he referenced an incident during which Linville, with alleged assistance from Fitzpatrick, permitted the unauthorized use of the Weston Town Office by a group unrelated to the town. Benson had previously rejected the request from members of the Weston Theater Company to use the facilities at the town office. Linville ignored the chair’s decision and granted the theater group access.
Benson felt his time was not being respected, and said he receives no support from Linville. Before walking out of the meeting, Benson stated with some emotion, “[I have] been here about 30 years, so now it’s time for me to retire. Goodbye everybody.”
After Benson’s announcement, resident Ken Hall presented the selectboard with two ethics complaints against Linville for misuse of government resources. Claiming Linville’s unapproved access to town offices was a “prohibited act under the code of municipal conduct,” Hall also issued a complaint to Fitzpatrick “for essentially the same thing.”
“No one had authority to be messing with door codes to this building,” Hall stated.
Susan Morris, Weston resident and vice chair of the town’s development review board, was at the Aug. 11 meeting, where she said the board had “lost its way,” further stating, “[This board] is not functioning responsibly. Processes are ignored, legal requirements are overlooked, and basic attentiveness to your duties is missing.”
“Transparency is not optional,” Morris declared. “It is the baseline expectation of public service.” Morris referenced the recent employee turnover in the Weston Town Office, attributing it to an uncomfortable work environment created by interactions with the selectboard.
Morris concluded her statement with the suggestion that “some, if not all, of you should consider resigning. Weston deserves leadership that is confident, lawful, transparent, and focused on the people it serves.”
At the selectboard meeting on July 28, the topic of an ethics liaison was raised, with residents questioning the validity of former executive assistant Shawna Batogowski holding the position, since she does not reside in Weston and no longer works for the town. Her proposed replacement, current selectboard administrative assistant Patty Greene-Pawelczyk, was rejected by residents who reminded members that any person who works directly for the selectboard is ineligible to serve as ethics liaison, as that would be a conflict of interest. The board pushed back at that, and Linville stated the liaison position was not intended to be a watchdog role.
Hall addressed the board during public comment, remarking, “Public trust has been violated. The selectboard has racked up an absurd number of open meeting law violations which it is has still not taken care of.”
Hall suggested the entirety of the board resign and allow the Secretary of State to schedule a special election in one month. “If any of you want your seat back, you can run for it and explain to everyone why they should trust you.”
Instead, the remaining three board members are not stepping down, and have notified and warned Weston voters of a Special Town Meeting set for Saturday, Sept. 26, where they will vote “yes” or “no” for two candidates, Nicole Dernier and Duane Hart. The voting begins at 9 a.m., at the Walker Farm Theater, located at 705 Main Street.
The term of one board seat expires in March 2027, and the other will end in March 2029. At this time, no other candidates have been announced.