Stockbridge — Although Independence Day is a little less than a month away, there was no shortage of fireworks at the June 5 Stockbridge Select Board meeting.
As current Chair Jamie Minacci was elected on May 20 to a second term on the Select Board, the evening’s agenda included a reorganization of the dais. Minacci was ultimately approved to continue as chair over the intense objections of board member Patrick White and with the support of board member Ernest “Chuck” Cardillo. Following a heated discussion with raised voices, White left the meeting, and, without his attendance, the group was unable to proceed with a zoning special permit public hearing regarding a single-family home on Mahkeenac Road that required a two-thirds vote from all three board members. With only two members left at the meeting, according to Town Administrator Michael Canales, that vote was not possible and the hearing was moved to June 26.
Initially, Minacci sought to move the reorganization vote from the start of the meeting to the end of the meeting, but that initiative was met with pushback from White, with the meeting continuing per the agenda schedule.
When White stated his desire to become the board chair due to, historically, it being his turn at the helm, Minacci responded that the written bylaws and charter don’t require the position to rotate among the board members; rather, it is something “we have been practicing a bit.”
She has served as chairperson for less than a year since Cardillo remained in the top spot for more than 12 months, a term that White pointed included the period Minacci was campaigning for an open seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
Minacci was unanimously voted to serve as the group’s chair on September 19 and said that, due to her shortened term, she “would like to continue as chair.”
Cardillo told White in open session that he “was a little disturbed by the letter you sent,” referring to a previous correspondence from White that allegedly stated what action White would take when he became the chairperson, with that statement made “before the vote was even taken.” He noted that some past chairpersons have served in the seat for two, three, or four years consecutively, and “nothing says that we have to go in order.”
“I really don’t like being told how to vote,” Cardillo said. “If that’s the way it’s going to start, then I don’t know how the year is going to go. It’s the first time that I’ve ever seen almost like a campaign going before the vote.”
White countered, alleging Minacci had announced to others she would “keep me from getting the chair.” He also claimed the town is “behind” him based on the number of votes cast in his favor for his last seat on the dais.
Minacci alleged that White’s letter sent to the Select Board’s official and personal emails “broke the Open Meeting Law.” She referred to a responding correspondence congratulating White on his chairmanship a day before the reorganization session was held.
White agreed he sent out letters, but that correspondence provided, “as is tradition, I expect to be nominated as Chair tomorrow.”
Minacci voiced concern that her chairmanship to date “has been gobbled up by our special permit” proceedings, referring to the numerous DeSisto property application hearings, and “it would be nice to be able to have that practice and experience.”
With both Minacci and White throwing their hats in the ring, Cardillo was faced with how to move forward as public comments from remote listeners interrupted the decision. He made a motion for Minacci to be the group’s chair, whereupon White walked out, saying he would not return.
Although the Mahkeenac Road public hearing application from the London Family Limited Partnership was delayed, the National Grid hearing for a joint pole on Prospect Hill Road was held and the measure passed as it did not require a two-thirds vote.
At the meeting, Minacci and Cardillo also unanimously approved the remaining agenda items including alcohol licenses for the Norman Rockwell Museum’s June 7 fundraiser, Berkshire Botanical Garden’s June 7 event, and programs at Tanglewood and the Chesterwood Museum. Paul Sundberg and Ingrid Raab were appointed to the Stockbridge Cultural Council while numerous other openings were listed for the town’s board and committees.
An Arbor Day proclamation was submitted by the Forestry and Agricultural Committee and approved by the Select Board, setting aside June 5 for the planting of trees and citing the renewable resource “as a source of joy.”
Canales informed the Select Board the town of West Stockbridge voted on May 5 to nix a warrant article that would have added the municipality to an inter-municipal agreement with Lee, Lenox, and Great Barrington for shared inspectional and zoning enforcement services. In its place, the town of Becket agreed to join the other municipalities, with no change in the coming fiscal year’s budget apportionments under the contract necessary, he said.
Canales also brought the two board members up to speed on the town’s shared fire and emergency medical services program with West Stockbridge that is in the process of hiring additional firefighters, with hopes grant funding will be allocated to aid in those costs.
“Being [a] regional [services department] may give us a good [advantage],” Cardillo said of the grant prospects.
The Select Board set the summer schedule for its meetings: June 26, July 10, July 24, and August 7.
