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Residents urge Select Board to remove ATSC representative amid BWALT conflict claims
Summary
At the July 21 meeting residents Kevin Barry and Joanne Aromini told the Westborough Select Board that Don Berne’s role with BWALT creates an ongoing conflict on the Active Transportation Steering Committee and urged the board to appoint a new, unbiased representative.
Kevin Barry, a Westborough resident, opened public comment with a detailed charge that a long‑standing local activist, identified in the meeting materials as Don Berne, has a conflict of interest that should disqualify him from serving as the town’s representative on the Active Transportation Steering Committee (ATSC). Barry said Berne “conceived the BWALT concept, advanced it without proper oversight and rewrote a $140,000 feasibility study,” and that Berne’s reappointment materials show he continued to promote the Boston‑Worcester Active Transportation Link (BWALT) to other towns while representing Westborough on ATSC.
Joanne Aromini echoed those concerns, raising two additional issues she said weaken public trust: that the ATSC working group is staff‑heavy with only one citizen member and that the project’s kickoff materials rely on dated studies and lack explicit prioritization or return‑on‑investment criteria. “We can’t afford everything in this town,” Aromini said, pressing for resident representation and clearer cost prioritization.
Why it matters: The ATSC advises the town on bicycle, pedestrian and trail planning; critics say a representative who promotes a single design or vendor can skew priorities and conceal options. The board did not take a formal vote on the request during the meeting; public comment concluded with the speakers’ written materials submitted to the board.
What happened in the meeting: Barry and Aromini addressed the Select Board during the public‑comment period, cited an award letter from Northborough’s planning director and summarized their review of applications and feasibility studies. Board members listened and acknowledged the submission; staff and board members later referenced ATSC comments during the East Main Street Corridor discussion.
Next steps: The Select Board did not hold a vote to remove or replace the ATSC representative during this meeting. The issue was documented in the meeting record; the board may consider formal follow‑up or an agenda item at a later meeting.
