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Resident questions use of non‑public sessions for grant discussion
Summary
Alan Savage told the Select Board that he believes a grant discussed last fall should not have been considered in non‑public session; Town Manager Jessica Cyr and Selectman Kathy‑Jean Lavoie said the State requested the non‑public discussion because the Governor and Executive Council had not signed off on the grant at that time.
Alan Savage addressed the Select Board during the Appointments portion of the April 21 meeting to raise concerns about transparency and the board's use of non‑public sessions. He said he has observed what he believes is overuse of non‑public sessions and cited a fall meeting where the board discussed a grant in non‑public that he felt should have been public.
Selectman Kathy‑Jean Lavoie and Town Manager Jessica Cyr responded that the session in question had been requested by the State because the Governor and Executive Council had not yet made a decision or signed off on the grant; Cyr encouraged Mr. Savage to contact the Department of Energy if he continued to contest the matter. Later in public comments Rob Christie also defended use of non‑public sessions for contracts and asked the board to encourage the Recreation Director to attend meetings.
The minutes record these concerns and the administration’s procedural explanation; the board did not take further formal action in response to the complaint at this meeting.
