Foxboro Board of Selectman confusion

From Stephanie McGowan in the Foxboro Reporter online edition- I am writing to Foxboro residents, especially the 900-plus who signed a petition to ask the Board of Selectmen to reconsider their vote to deny a Splitsville/Howl at the Moon to open at Patriot Place. I wanted to update you on how that is going, unfortunately not so well.

If you recall, back in early November a petition was circulating to ask our BOS to get more information and reconsider their vote. In under a 2 week time span just under 1000 town residents signed this petition asking such. A small group of us got up in front of the BOS and presented the petition and some information we had collected with positive reasons to allow Splitsville/HATM to join our community. The BOS voted 5-0 to have the chairman, Mark Sullivan, and member John Gray to get together with the Splitsville/HATM people to gather more information and to reach out to the Kraft Organization to try to come up with a solution to work as a team regarding issues brought before the BOS. This relationship between the BOS and the KO had become strained and the best thing for our town would be to mend fences and work together for the good of Foxboro.

This is where it gets ugly. At the next BOS meeting it is stated that only John Gray got together with members of the KO and that took place the day before the BOS were to meet. There is no outreach to the Splitsville/HATM people. The meeting is full of confusion and it is like pulling teeth to find out why what the board voted 5-0 to do wasn’t allowed to happen. Finally is it revealed that Lorraine Brue had expressed to acting Town Manager, Bob Cutler, and town counsel about more than 1 member meeting with the SV/HOTM people or the KO. Some BOS members know of this, others are just finding out at the table, there is complete confusion. As I sit as this meeting, the phrase 3 Ring Circus passes through my mind. So we are finding out that the last two weeks have been a total waste, nothing has been accomplished, we are back to square one!

Now fast forward to last Tuesday’s BOS meeting. We have a liquor license transfer approved for a package store on Summer Street. Applicants are asked only one question, have they ever run a business which sells alcohol. They respond no, but will be taking a TIPS class later in January. BOS votes 5-0 to approve the license transfer, smile, welcome and wish them luck with their business in Foxboro. What? No speech about how strict this board is regarding license holders and how they will suspend violators, oh wait, they save that speech only for businesses that open at Patriot Place. This is becoming a pattern on how business owners, including our highest tax payer in town, The KO, are treated up at Patriot Place.

As this meeting continues, the agenda item Splitsville is moved up. This is where all hell breaks loose. Two BOS and the Town Manager say they were expecting a revised presentation from the KO, their representative Jim Cobery knows nothing of it and thinks tonight’s meeting is about continuing discussions. The next half hour is full of behavior unbecoming of this town’s BOS. Our chairman goes off on rants about how the wool is being pulled over the boards eyes, he and other board members are speaking over each other as well as over guests at the table, KO representatives as well as our own town counsel are being treated rudely and spoken to as if they are children being scolded, there is complete confusion and a lack of respect and professionalism that should come from the BOS while handling town business. There are accusations about stalling and disappointment about the KO not being prepared.

Are you kidding me -- this from a board who was not prepared to vote on this issue the first night is was presented to them when the whole KO team as well as Splitsville/HATM people flew in with an incredible presentation for them? It was stated that John Gray had not gotten a chance to read his packet and that Lorraine Brue and Ginny Coppola were not ready to vote. So they made the Splitsville people fly up again a week later and vote to deny the application for the liquor license transfer sitting public safety. Oh, by the way, our chief of police, you know the one who is the expert at public safety; he gave the project thumbs up. The chairman is trying to adjourn meeting and motions are being made while other BOS and KO representatives are speaking.

Finally we have a moment when it is decided to have some discussion. A list of concerns is brought up. This list was compiled by members of the BOS and given to our town counsel to pass on to the KO. BOS members supposedly haven’t seen this list before tonight. So can anyone tell me why John Gray knows what Lorraine Brue means and answers for her when she is asked a question, or how he knows that another concern on that list was not given by a member of the BOS? I guess the same way he knows to go looking for old executive meeting minutes about the board’s concerns regarding what they wanted Patriot Place to be before he was even sitting on that board. I guess a little birdie told him! The public is not stupid and we pick up on these issues. Sometimes I wonder if this board remembers they are being taped, hard to fudge your way out of something the public has viewed with their own eyes. This is your BOS people, with the exception of Jim Devellis, who seems to be the only voice of reason, this is the embarrassment we have elected to decide the big issues for own town.

If you haven’t seen the meeting, you should visit FCATV.ORG and watch, you can pull up previous meetings also.

Are you confused yet? You should be, I have been at all but one of these meeting and my head is spinning. So let me tell you what this board is facing. First of all, under the watch of Chairman Mark Sullivan the board has been accused of four and a possible fifth open meeting violation. We have an appeal made to the ABCC from the KO about the denial of the license transfer. This is scheduled for March and will be sure to cost our town a great deal of money and time. Amongst the other possible lawsuits that may come because our BOS picks and chooses how to treat businesses in our town.

This is a complete mess my friends! Let me leave you with these thoughts, we have not dropped the ball, we are not going away, and we will continue to hold this board to a higher standard, THE PEOPLE OF FOXBORO DESERVE THIS!!! Please remember this at election time in May. Please vote, your vote is your voice!!

Stephanie McGowan