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Residents press council on Blues Festival, charges for town commons and transparency around investigations
Summary
Multiple residents challenged statements about the Blues Festival, objected to proposed charges for use of the town commons, and pressed the council for details and public disposition of recent investigations and legal engagements.
Residents used the public-comment period to press two themes: defense of community events and requests for greater transparency about investigations and legal spending. Dennis Martin told the council his Blues Festival has never been "for profit" and said he has personally covered event costs and donates proceeds to veterans. "I will never do that to my brother veterans," Martin said, asking the council to correct prior characterizations.
Other speakers raised broader accountability concerns. Christine Perez cited the town charter and asked the council to release votes, engagement letters and records related to recent legal work and to end broad reliance on sealed sessions. A councilor who is a subject of an investigation urged the council to publish an "allegation-by-allegation" disposition, give a completion date for outstanding steps and explain any legal basis for withholding parts of a report. The exchange led to a motion (moved by speaker 4, seconded by speaker 16) directing counsel to complete a public disclosure review within five business days; that motion was discussed and opposed during the meeting but initiated the public record demand.
