Southborough trust discusses CPC posting rules, Select Board outreach to Housing Authority and moves into executive session for property acquisition

The Town of Southborough Affordable Housing Trust approved meeting minutes, discussed public posting and quorum rules for a related Community Preservation Committee (CPC) meeting, expressed concern about Select Board members approaching the Housing Authority without prior notification to the trust, and voted to enter executive session under MGL chapter 30A section 21 to discuss potential property acquisition.

The committee approved two sets of minutes by roll call. For the 01/31/2025 minutes the roll call recorded "Ellen: Aye; Paul: Aye; Al: Aye; Jesse: Aye; Doug: Aye." For the minutes identified as "30 first" a second roll call recorded the same five aye votes.

Members turned to a separate agenda item about a CPC application whose meeting had been improperly noticed. One member summarized the problem: the CPC did not have a quorum at its scheduled meeting because of a misposted date (it was posted for Feb. 1 instead of Feb. 11). Committee members debated whether the appearance of a quorum—even if some participants are non-deliberating attendees or on Zoom—requires posting. One member said, "If there's gonna be a quorum, we have to post," and another cautioned that "the appearance even the appearance of having, a an open meeting situation warrants posting to avoid future issues." The committee agreed it was better to post and asked that the trust be notified promptly when the CPC sets a new date so the trust can post within the 48-hour requirement.

The committee also addressed reports that two members of the Select Board (other than Al) had approached the Housing Authority to advocate for the trust's Community Preservation Committee application. One trust member said they were unaware and asked that such outreach be discussed by the trust first. Al responded, "I was not. Although, there is nothing inappropriate about that," and later added that advocating to implement a Select Board policy goal is "a perfectly reasonable thing for a Select Board member to do." The committee member who raised the concern said they felt "blindsided" and asked Al to discuss future outreach with the chair and vice chair of the Select Board before it occurs.

The meeting concluded with a motion under the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law to enter executive session per MGL chapter 30A section 21, exemption six, to discuss potential property acquisition and not return to open session. The motion was moved and seconded; the subsequent roll call was recorded: Ellen: Aye; Paul: Aye; Al: Aye; Jesse: Aye; Doug: Aye. Committee members then addressed logistics for conducting executive session on Zoom, including stopping the meeting recording and notifying IT or Vanessa to ensure the video is not posted.