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Resident alleges commissioner berated and snubbed volunteer; requests board response
Summary
During public comment Brian Fennery alleged Commissioner Charlie Gilb berated him after the May 6 meeting, excluded a junior volunteer from recognition, retracted a handshake and later called attempting to play it off as a joke; Fennery asked the board to address the conduct and record his concerns in the minutes.
Brian Fennery, 309 Park Avenue, used the public‑comment period at the board’s June 17 meeting to read an email he had sent to commissioners recounting a confrontation with Commissioner Charlie Gilb following the May 6 meeting.
Fennery told the board he was sitting with public works staff when Mr. Gilb approached and criticized him as "childish" and said Fennery sought the last word. The dispute, Fennery said, followed his attempt to acknowledge multiple generations of a volunteer fire family; he said Mr. Gilb omitted recognition of a junior member, Bri, who Fennery said is a current junior volunteer.
According to Fennery, the exchange escalated: he says Mr. Gilb called for a public apology and later retracted an offered handshake, which Fennery described as a deliberate passive‑aggressive snub. Fennery said he then raised his voice to draw attention to the interaction and that Police Chief Deal intervened to separate the parties. He also said Commissioner De Martin and others witnessed the exchange.
Fennery asked the board to acknowledge and address the conduct and said he expected a response. He provided his contact information and requested his remarks be included in meeting minutes. He also recounted that Mr. Gilb later phoned him at 9:47 p.m., which Fennery described as an attempt to treat the incident as a joke.
No vote or formal disciplinary action resulted from the public comment; commissioners did not announce an immediate investigatory step during the meeting. The complaint was made on the public record and the resident asked for follow‑up from the board.
