Tempers Flare While Selectmen Rectify Possible Open Meeting Law Violation

What appeared to be a simple matter of clarification and caution turned into a heated argument Tuesday night as the Foxborough Board of Selectmen again found themselves attempting to find a resolution to a potential Open Meeting Law violation.

On April 30, four members of the previous board -- John Gray, Ginny Coppola, Lorraine Brue, and David Feldman, all attended a Permanent Municipal and School Building Committee meeting on the design of the new Town Hall, inadvertently creating a quorum and a potential OML violation.

In an attempt to avoid a violation, Gray had the minutes from the meeting read into their record, with the selectmen summarizing what they said.

Newly elected Selectman Chris Mitchell cautioned the board to be more careful, reminding members that there have been six accusations of OLM violations against the selectmen since 2012.

“We have to change. Someone in that room should have realized I’m the third person and I should leave,” Mitchell said.

The quick solution turned into a heated discussion, with Coppola saying that she was not aware the selectmen were going to be asked for comment and accused building committee Chair Bill Yukna of causing the violation by asking for the group’s opinion during the meeting.

According to Gray, Brue contacted town council after the fact to check if there was a violation. The former chair was told try to rectify the situation.

Discussions on the fix escalated so quickly that DeVellis threaten to walk out of the meeting twice.

“Say you’re sorry and move on. If there was a violation, it was a mistake and move on, let’s not blame anyone,” DeVellis said. For the last year, I got dragged down with this board blaming other people, blaming misunderstandings. There was a mistake made.”

Town Manager Bill Keegan said he thought only Feldman was going to attend and was unaware that Yukna wanted the board. While selectmen are allowed to attend town meetings, a violation can occur if there is a quorum and the members participate in a discussion.

Assistant Town Manager Mary Beth Bernard recommended that the selectmen refrain from commenting if there is a quorum or the discussion is on an issue they will eventually address.

Both boards will have a joint meeting to discuss the new Town Hall on May 19.