Southborough Planning Board refers Open Meeting Law complaint response to counsel

On Dec. 23 the Southborough Planning Board voted to refer its response to an Open Meeting Law complaint to town counsel, after members said the contested Dec. 19 executive-session discussion had been held on the advice of counsel.

The complaint was filed Dec. 19 by Michael Wyshane on behalf of the Southborough Historical Society and questioned an executive-session sale and a previous open-meeting complaint by the same party. "As holding the 12/19 discussion and executive session was on advice of counsel, I think it is wise for us to just delegate the response to counsel," said Unidentified Speaker 1 at the meeting opening.

A board member identified in the transcript as Unidentified Speaker 2 asked what the risk would be if the board did not delegate the response and whether more could be inferred about consequences. Speaker 2 said, after hearing the counsel rationale, that delegating "seems to make the most sense."

Unidentified Speaker 3 moved to "refer the response for this Open Meeting Law complaint to counsel." The motion passed on a voice vote called by Unidentified Speaker 1. The transcript records votes as: Littrell, yes; Demiria, yes; Don Brasheo, yes; Belmiak, yes. The record in the transcript reflects those names and spellings as spoken during the vote.

Following the vote, the board took a motion to adjourn that was seconded and approved. The transcript records the adjournment vote as: Luttrell, yes; Demiria, yes; Rasheo, yes; Dolomiec, yes. The meeting concluded with brief holiday greetings.

The board did not record substantive debate over the merits of the complaint during this session; members framed the decision as an administrative step to have counsel prepare the formal response. The transcript does not specify any timeline for counsel's response or any further board action.

The complaint named Michael Wyshane and the Southborough Historical Society; the transcript identifies the subject of the complaint as an executive-session sale held Dec. 19 and a prior complaint by the same filer. No statutory citation beyond "Open Meeting Law" was provided in the transcript.

The board's referral to counsel is an internal procedural step; the transcript does not show counsel's advice in detail nor any legal analysis. The action requires counsel to prepare the response but does not record any further direction, amendments, or follow-up deadlines in the meeting record.