Contractor and conservation member clash over work near lake buffer; Select Board declines to rule on wetlands exemption

The Otis Select Board on June 9 heard a complaint describing an exchange between contractor and meeting attendee Justin Hyland and conservation member Dave Sarnacki. The dispute began when Sarnacki approached Hyland while he was working at 20 Pine Road Extension and questioned whether the work fell within the 100-foot wetland buffer around a nearby lake.

Hyland said he measured the work, concluded it was not within the 100-foot buffer and characterized the activity as exempt maintenance of a driveway; he told the board he “felt targeted” and that private property rights were at issue. Sarnacki maintained he did not enter private property and said he spoke to Hyland from the roadway. The board record indicates the exchange was heated and that both men described prior questions about work done on other properties.

Select Board member Terry Gould told the meeting the Select Board will not decide whether particular activity is exempt under the state Wetlands Protection Act, noting that those jurisdictional and permitting decisions belong to the Conservation Commission. The board said it will, however, take into account the conduct of appointed board and committee members when considering reappointments or other oversight actions.

The minutes record that the Select Board postponed reappointments to Conservation to allow members time to reflect on the complaint and to review conflict-of-interest guidance. No formal finding or disciplinary motion was recorded in the minutes, and the matter remains a local complaint for the Conservation process to address.