David Farris of 118 Turnpike Road told the Select Board during public comment on Jan. 7 that his firm has unsuccessfully sought records of communications between the town planner and the planning board chair and that a state order to produce records has not been fully complied with.

"We started to ask questions and wanted more transparency in government, and we sought several FOIA requests around, specifically the town planners communication and the chairs communication," Farris said. He said the town records officer initially told him no such records existed; a litigation‑hold letter prompted one board member to produce partial group‑chat disclosures. Farris said the partial disclosure contradicts the records officer’s original claim and that a state order to produce records still has not been fully satisfied.

Why it matters: Farris framed the request as a transparency concern affecting how development proposals have been handled by the planning board; he asked the Select Board for assistance in obtaining compliance from a town employee and an elected board chair. The Select Board did not respond during the public comment period (the chair stated the board does not respond to public comment during the meeting), and Farris provided the board copies of the documents he described.

What Farris said on the record

- "We felt that the town planner, in addition to the chair of the planning board, have been very obstructionist to our efforts to advance projects...We started to ask questions and wanted more transparency in government, and we sought several FOIA requests around, specifically the town planner's communication and the chairs communication."

- "We were told when we received that disclosure that it was a partial disclosure...it became very clear that the answers that the town records officer got are inconsistent with the documents that were disclosed by 1 board member showing that there had been communications."

Farris asked the Select Board to consider "some sort of cooperation" or a formal response — written or by phone — to help obtain the records and to look at cell‑phone records covering roughly the past 18 months to identify communications between the town planner and the planning board chair.

The board’s reaction and next steps

Select Board members did not comment during public comment. Staff took the packet of documents Farris provided. The board’s procedures for handling public comment were reiterated: Select Board members do not respond to public comment during the meeting. The transcript does not show further action or a formal follow‑up directive from the board that evening.

Ending: Farris said he would welcome a written or phone follow‑up; the town records officer and the Select Board will need to decide whether to pursue further production under state public records procedures or proceed with administrative or legal follow‑up.