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Resident questions transparency after conduit work on Main Street light poles; board says work was discussed and paid from electrical fund
Summary
During public comment a resident alleged the town did not publicly discuss conduit installations in Main Street light poles and challenged purchases for cemetery signage and holiday decorations; board members said the work and costs were discussed previously and that the electrical fund covered the $4,000 expense for 20 poles.
A resident raised concerns during public comment that conduit and wiring added to the power boxes on Main Street light poles were not adequately discussed in public meetings and asked whether the board had violated the Open Meetings Act.
"Several people noticed that the conduit rounds in the power boxes on on every light pole of Main Street," the resident said, asking where the work was approved and where the money came from.
The speaker also questioned procurement for cemetery signs and holiday decorations, saying purchases and signage appeared to have been arranged without public bidding. The resident urged transparency and said those steps should be done in public.
Chair (acting) responded that the conduit work had been discussed previously in a board meeting and that the cost for the electrical work came from the town's electrical fund. He confirmed the line item for the pole work totaled "a little over $4,000" and that the work covered 20 poles.
Clarity about solicitation and bidding requirements did not appear on the record during the public comment period; board members did not provide meeting minutes or an ordinance citation on the record to show a prior formal approval or a bid process. One speaker also flagged the cemetery map and a sign purchase as matters that should have been publicly noticed and, in their view, bid.
The board did not place any new procurement motion or vote on the record at that time. The item remains an open question for the board to document whether prior discussion or formal approvals satisfy state public-meeting and bidding rules.
The board accepted the accounting reports later in the meeting and approved bills by voice vote; the clerk listed the electrical fund as the source for the pole work during the accounting report without further documentation of a bid process.
