FOIC complaints allege illegal meetings in Thomaston

Two complaints have been filed with the Freedom of Information Commission (FOIC) alleging Thomaston officials have violated portions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that apply to public meetings.

On May 24, Ralph Celone, the chairman of Thomaston’s Planning and Zoning Commission, filed a complaint with the FOIC over audio he received from a meeting held on July 25, 2023. No agenda was posted prior to the meeting, held by the Opera House Commission.

Under FOIA, public agencies are required to file public meeting agendas with a clerk and make them publicly available no later than 24-hours before the start of a meeting.

“We’re starting to get a little bit of pushback from all directions.” Mike Burr, a member of the committee, can be heard saying in audio from the meeting. Burr further states that he received a call from the town clerk informing him that the agenda for the July 25 meeting actually contained information from the commission’s June 6, 2023 meeting.

“So I copied everybody and apparently I sent her the wrong agenda and nobody on my committee picked up on the fact that the agenda was wrong. So, if somebody wants to make a stink, they can say that we have the wrong agenda posted at this juncture, I don’t really give a shit. That’s the least of our worries, I think everyone will agree.” Burr continued.

Jeff Dunn, another Thomaston Opera House Commission member and member of the Board of Selectmen, then states that any motions made during the July 25 meeting can be brought to another commission to remove and approve motions so it can’t be argued they are invalid because they were made during an illegal meeting.

Burr says not to worry about that, stating everything will be fine as long as the commission posts the minutes on time and makes corrections at the next meeting.

Agendas from the commission’s meetings held between March 21, 2023 and July 25, 2023 are currently not posted on the commission’s website.

The audio was forwarded to Celone by an anonymous citizen. In his complaint, Celone wrote that the letter and audio he had received amounted to “current selectmen (sic) Mike Burr knowingly holding an illegal meeting—and proclaiming “I don’t really give a shit” about it—and current selectman Jeff Dunn conspiring on how to cover it up.”

Celone noted that he was contacting the FOIC about the matter because it involved two-thirds of the town’s Board of Selectmen and because Thomaston does not have an ethics commission.

That is not the only illegal meeting Celone alleges has occurred in Thomaston. Celone also filed a second complaint with the FOIC on June 7 alleging the Board of Selectmen illegally met on May 23.

The complaint alleges that Burr and Dunn met with Matthew Pugliese, deputy commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), and Rep. John Piscopo, R-Burlington, on or around May 23. It references a LinkedIn post Pugliese made about visiting the Thomaston Opera House with Piscopo and Thomaston Board of Selectmen member Ed Mone.

Under FOIA, the definition of a meeting includes “any convening or assembly of a quorum of a multimember public agency” for the purpose of discussing or acting on a matter over which it has supervision or jurisdiction. The definition of a meeting does not include “any change meeting, or a social meeting neither planned nor intended for the purpose of discussing matters relating to official business.”

Mone told Inside Investigator the May 23 meeting was an “impromptu meeting with the Commissioner which included myself as the First Selectman, Mr. Burr as Chairman of the Opera House Restoration Building Committee, and Mr. Dunn as the Executive Director of Landmark Community Theatre.”

He added that the meeting was held to provide the Commissioner with a tour of the opera House facility to secure his support for a grant opportunity being offered by the State.”

Celone noted in his complaint that the May 23 meeting involved two of the same Board of Selectmen members from his previous complaint.

“This latest act in a dangerous and disturbing trend highlights the total disregard this board has for open and transparent government along with FOI requirements.” Celone wrote.

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