At the Selectmen's meeting on May 12 Selectman Weil presented
4 or so
reasons why he would not support my appointment to the Harbor and Waterfront
Committee. I would like to present a response to his statement and my
version of the events described by Selectman Weil.
I would like to make some comments first.
Revised 5/20/05.
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I have hesitated to respond publicly. I would like
to be part of the solution, and not part of the problem. I do not want to make
things worse. However, There are some issues that extend beyond myself.
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I believe this situation could have been
resolved more readily and with less discomfort, if Selectman Weil had
spoken with me in private prior to broadcasting his displeasure on HCTV14.
I think any citizen deserves this opportunity
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Much of the disagreement may rest in
differing meanings of "respond." Selectman Weil may have thought
that the Board "responded" when they rejected a full time Harbormaster. I,
and, I think the committee, took "respond" to mean informing the committee
of their opinions about all of the concerns expressed in the letter.
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At Town Meeting, I was merely
expressing the opinions, conclusions and decisions of the Harbor and
Waterfront Committee. While I was persuaded of the appropriateness of
their decisions, they were not mine. While I take responsibility for what
I said, Selectman Weil is wrong to single me out as the sole author of
what I said.
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I do not believe I said anything
wrong at the town meeting. I have reviewed a tape of the discussion of
Article 49, and do not believe I blindsided the Selectmen, nor do I
believe I misled or manipulated the Town Meeting nor did I treat Selectman
Weil in bad faith or even poorly. Obviously Selectman Weil was offended.
However, I think it is a very dangerous precedent for a public official to
be allowed to "punish" or target a citizen for what they said at town
meeting.
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I do not know why it was OK to
suggest a full time Harbor master, but not OK , to propose an increase in
the time available to him Selectman Weil never said our discussion should
be limited to a full time Harbormaster.
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The Selectmen have put a full time
Harbormaster on the ballet for June 14th. To my knowledge, at no time
prior to their decision did they seek the advice of the committee except
when the committee discussed the proposal for the Town Meeting with
Selectman Theberge.
In my opinion the Selectmen, and the proposal, would have benefited from such an interaction
with the committee and that is what the committee is for.
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I feel Selectman Weil made several statements in his
presentation which are simply not true. Also, this is not the first time
he has done this. Therefore, I feel it is important to point out these
inaccuracies, in hopes he will be more careful in the future.
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Therefore, in what I hope is a
constructive, well documented manner I am providing my version.
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I probably will be making changes to this
as time goes on. I would appreciate your comments, either pro or con
or neutral, as well as suggestions as to how I can best be constructive. I
would like to post any or all - with your permission.
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I expect to respond to Selectman Weil at the next
Selectmen's meeting - unless the unexpected happens. I welcome your
support.
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If you would like CD playable on
your computer in the *.wav format with the discussion of my appointment on
it and the discussion of Article 49 on it please send your address and
phone number to btaylor1@gwi.net. A
donation of a dollar would be appreciated but is not necessary.