Lee — In a press release issued on Thursday, June 22 by Lee Town Administrator Christopher Brittain, town officials allege that the “BRPC Director Purposely Tried to Exclude and Mislead Lee’s Rest of River Committee Member.”
The document states that email records derived from a records request show a message from Berkshire Regional Planning Commission [BRPC] Director Tom Matuszko to attorney Matt Pawa of Seeger Weiss LLP: “If you did want to discuss strategy with the Committee it might be better to do so closer to the May 4th date in case our Lee Committee member opponent gives those discussion comments to HRI’s attorney (alternatively, and having watched way too much TV, you could provide misleading information to throw their attorneys off track.)”
Pawa represents the Housatonic Rest of River Municipal Committee in its intervenor status in the federal appellate case filed by the Housatonic River Initiative and the Housatonic Environmental Action League’s intervenor statement against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.Along with General Electric, the Committee is listed as an Intervenor, an interested party that has a stake in the case’s outcome, in the appeal. Oral arguments on the appeal were held June 6.
In a telephone interview this afternoon, Matuszko told The Edge that he had not seen the release and could not comment. However, when reading the first paragraph of allegations, Matuszko said he “probably won’t comment on it until I can read it myself.” When asked about whether he tried to exclude or mislead Rest of River Committee member Josh Bloom, Matuszko said, “no.”
“I’m not going to make a comment,” he said. “It’s too confusing without the information.” He stated there was an open meeting law violation.
The release also provides, in full:
“In addition, when asked repeatedly by newly appointed Rest of River (RoR) member Josh Bloom, Matuszko is on record during a public meeting stating that he could not recall if any such conversations took place with Atty. Pawa prior to RoR meetings.
“The Town of Lee and its residents have expressed numerous concerns over the Rest of River Committee’s actions that have taken place over the past few months. In particular, the Rest of River Committee’s vote to send counsel to the First Circuit Court to support GE’s toxic waste dump in the Town of Lee and Pawa’s statement at the First Circuit Court hearing where he stated that all five communities (including Lee) supported the controversial plan.
“The Town of Lee filed a dispute on the vote to pay Pawa $15,000 to support GE’s toxic waste dump in Lee. However, some Rest of River towns used delay tactics (such as filing objections to the selected mediator) to essentially deny Lee’s request for mediation on the controversial vote.
“Other related issues include an open meeting law violation that was upheld by the Massachusetts Attorney General for an inaccurate and substandard agenda posting for the vote. Lee officials also have a pending record requests to BRPC to help determine if Matuszko may have shown intention to deceive the public on the agenda posting. BRPC has been unresponsive to these requests.
“Furthermore, Matuszko refused to add public comment to meeting agendas following the controversial vote and subsequent open meeting law violations. Lee member Bob Jones made a plea to the other committee members from Lenox, Stockbridge, Great Barrington and Sheffield several times to allow public comment but no other members would even second his motion.
“The Lee Select Board also reached out to the Lenox, Stockbridge, Great Barrington and Sheffield Select Boards to discuss the matter and all 4 boards refused to engage in a meeting.”
Chair Bob Jones stated, “It’s bad enough that Lee was sacrificed to house all of the South County’s toxic waste and it is even worse when our neighbors won’t speak to us on the matter. Finding out the committee process has been corrupted, however, is reprehensible.”
Board member Sean Regnier stated that, “we always tried to view BRPC as an impartial facilitator but this is obviously not the case.”
Member Gordon Baily said “It is tragic that there was an attempt by the BRPC Chair to request the attorney to deceive others. Lee is the town that will bear the brunt of this cleanup and will have the stigma of a pcb dump forever.”
Update June 22, 3:25 p.m. Via email, Committee member Bloom sent the following statement to The Berkshire Edge:
“I share the Lee Select Board’s concerns regarding the improper nature of the Committee’s votes to support GE’s legal efforts and the disregard for the intended purpose of the Rest of River Committee.
“The Rest of River Committee was established with the primary objective of safeguarding the health and welfare of the environment and the people residing within the five Rest of River communities. Regrettably, it has become evident that the Committee’s actions have undermined this fundamental purpose, focusing solely on advancing the interests of four member towns while ignoring the concerns, pleas, and protests voiced by the Town of Lee and its residents.
“Of particular concern is the failure of the Committee’s attorney to adequately disclose to the US Court of Appeals that the Town of Lee opposed the legal actions being argued. This lack of transparency further exemplifies the neglect of the Town of Lee and its residents, as well as the dismissal of our environmental and public health concerns.
“As one of Lee’s representatives to the Rest of River Committee, I call upon my colleagues from Sheffield, Great Barrington, Stockbridge, and Lenox to genuinely represent the interests of all Rest of River communities, including the Town of Lee, and to prioritize the protection of our environment and public health. The Town of Lee and its residents deserve to have their voices heard and their concerns addressed in a fair and equitable manner.“
