The June 6 North Yarmouth Select Board hearing regarding a complaint against Selectperson Paul Hodgetts concluded with charges being dismissed.
A standing-room-only crowd packed Wescustogo Hall to witness the hearing.
Following testimony from all parties, special counsel John Hamar advised the Select Board, “I don't see anything here that I think would warrant further action.”
Charges against Hodgetts stemmed from allegations of misconduct by Kristin Collins, attorney for 527 LLC, and Deacon Hayes developer Laurie Bachelder. The May 8 complaint states Hodgetts conspired with residents to undermine the Deacon Hayes Commons project.
“Using the process” was referenced during the proceeding. Former Chairperson Brian Sites clarified the June 6 hearing was not because of the Code of Conduct (CoC) policy, but the Code of Conduct policy provided the framework for the proceeding.
Attorney David Lourie, representing Hodgetts, asked the complaint be dismissed, as it did not qualify for action under the CoC policy. Lourie argued the basis for the allegations fell within constitutionally protected free speech and also qualified for protection by “whistleblower” statutes.
During deliberation, the Select Board struggled to differentiate aspirational goals of the policy and behavior that qualified for action. The CoC policy outlines standards to meet an accountability review. Both Sites and Selectperson Andrea Berry admitted they did not know what to do with the complaint. Sites stated, “What do we want to do next, because I'm I'm not certain where we're supposed to go from here.” Berry added, “I'm struggling to answer this question of what do we do now?”
Attorney Hamar emphasized the Select Board could only take actions against conduct defined by the CoC policy or the town charter. “So the question for me is, is there something that's been alleged that I can put my finger on and say this was violated or not.”
Attorney Collins agreed there was no due process violation against her client, but she believed Hodgetts's actions went against “appropriate decorum” and “appropriate chain of command” was not followed.
Sites said the Select Board had to take action against Hodgetts because the town had received the complaint letter. “Regardless of whether we had a code of conduct, we could be, could have ended up in this very same situation.”
Center to the charge was communication with state senior environmental hydrogeologist, Alex Pugh, which included photographs and questions alleged to be the same as those sent from abutters protesting the project.
An April 25 email from Pugh to resident Judy Potter states, “I am CC'ing Sol Dostilio and Paul Hodgetts as they had similar questions, and Kristen (sic) Collins from PrettiFlaherty who wants to know what the community concerns are, so that the 572 (sic) LLC team can answer questions if asked.”
Attorney Collins described Potter as a “vocal project opponent”. Hodgetts is alleged to have conspired with Potter and abutting property owners, Sol and Alicia Dostillio.
Considering the charges, former Selectperson Kate Perrin stated, “Yeah. So the multiple copies of the same image being sent to the state. One could only kind of think like this. There's some type of coordinated effort here.”
Attorney Collins stated her client submitted overwhelming evidence supporting the complaint. This information was not publicly shared. The Select Board did not respond to questions asking to explain steps the Town used to review the documents to determine if it merited a hearing.
NYFV asked Select Board members if they believed the same photos and questions were submitted by multiple individuals but did not get a response.
Copies of communications in question, including photos, shared with NYFV are not identical. The images are of the project, but appear to be taken during different seasons and from different points, and had different identification numbers. Only two individuals confirmed they had sent pictures to Mr. Pugh, with one person stating they had only emailed questions. The questions mirror statements by individuals raised during the April 12 public hearing. These communications related to the remaining remand item for the Deacon Hayes project, which was to be addressed by the Planning Board on April 26.
Pugh’s email referenced questions about existing wells, setbacks, and groundwater direction and explained wastewater design approval was in part based on conversations with Mark Cenci. Pugh added, “There are situations where a regulator must rely on the professional certification of the geologist or engineer.” He confirmed visiting the Deacon Hayes building site on April 25. From Parsonage Road he “did not see a steel-cased bedrock well. I recall that the dug well was going to be properly abandoned as part of the construction, and I had thought that this had been done, but the well is still there.” However, he admitted he had not gone onto the property.
Following deliberation, the Select Board was unable to define an actionable charge and voted to take no further action.
Attorney Collins requested Hodgetts be removed from his liaison role. Select Board liaisons are not appointed positions and do not fall under the Select Board quasi-judicial authority, so members cannot be removed. At its next meeting, the Select Board voted 4-1 to amend bylaws to eliminate the Select Board liaison position for Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, and Board of Assessment Review.
Bill Young received a CoC policy complaint letter on May 16, but charges were dismissed following his May 18 resignation from the Budget Committee.
Two CoC policy complaints were recently filed against Planning Board Chair Paul Whitmarsh. Both charges were dismissed following an August 1 hearing.
A May 15 letter from the town attorney advised Hodgetts the town had no obligation to provide legal support, as the hearing was part of disciplinary action related to the complaint.
Hodgetts spent nearly $3200 for legal fees to defend against the CoC policy allegations. Whitmarsh legal fees were closer to $5000. Young chose to resign rather than hire an attorney to fight charges.
North Yarmouth has spent more than $14000 to develop and administer its CoC policy.
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