Planning Board Appointment

I sent the following email to our selectmen:

"To the Selectmen:

The upcoming appointment to the planning board is extremely important. Townspeople have indicated again and again that cell phone service and broadband access are the most important issues facing the town. With the very real possibility that a tower company may apply for a special permit soon, the attitude of the members of the planning board toward cell phone service becomes critical.

Given the importance of this matter, the appointment should not be made unless all the members of the selectboard and the planning board participate. In addition, the candidates should be required to state their positions on cell phone service and on the need for a cell tower in town. (They need not state their position on the Kelly site specifically.) One of the candidates has taken the position in the past that cell towers cause health problems (a position with no scientific support) and he should be specifically asked whether he has changed that position. It is simply not fair to have a planning board member appointed who is prone to vote contrary to the strong wishes of the vast majority of townspeople. "

You should make your views known. The town's email address is tegremont@yahoo.com. If you care about cell phone service, you should go to the appointment session and speak up. I will try to publish its date and time. It should also be posted at town hall and in the North Egremont store. Watch for it.

Election Results

For those of you who missed it, the interesting contested election results were:

Selectman: Turner 251, Allen 238, confirmed by recount.
Planning board, 2 year: Hudnut and Haeckel tied, confirmed by recount.

Under Massachusetts law, the tie for the planning board seat will be resolved not by another election, but rather by appointment (for a one year term). The appointment is by majority vote of the combined selectboard and planning board, i.e., the four planning board members and three selectmen. They can appoint anyone, but its likely they'll pick one of the two candidates. More on that later. The last time there was a vacancy on the planning board, certain members of the planning board engaged in some clandestine tactics designed to get who they wanted appointed. Stay tuned.