Brentwood committee sets public session after residents raise transparency concerns

The Brentwood town building committee voted to schedule a committee meeting on Dec. 9 at 1:30 p.m. and a public information session on Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. after debate over timing, venue and the adequacy of shared materials. The committee agreed to publish meeting materials, confirm venue options and prepare printed Q&A materials for residents.

Why it matters: residents flagged gaps in the project’s online information — outdated minutes, missing meeting notes and an unclear calendar — and urged the committee to make materials easier to find. One public commenter raised concerns about widely varying cost figures in older documents and urged the committee to publish consistent, up-to-date information before public sessions.

During public comment, Chad Miller (who later clarified his name as Chet) told the committee he had difficulty finding consistent meeting notes and cited several older documents that suggested much higher projected municipal-building costs. “I would encourage the calendar to be filled out in advance so people can attend if they'd like to,” he said, and urged the committee to use town-wide channels such as the Brentwood newsletter. Committee members replied that some documents cited were out of date and that staff would coordinate to improve website postings and FAQs.

The committee directed staff to (1) post updated minutes and meeting materials to the project website, (2) prepare printed Q&A and newsletter content for non-digital residents, and (3) provide full drawings to the police chief and other reviewers ahead of the public session. The chair said those materials should clarify that the $5.6 million figure presented is a concept project budget that includes soft costs and contingencies and is not a fixed construction bid.