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Date: 3/17/2016
EAST LONGMEADOW – Public outcry from the majority of approximately 200 people attending the Board of Selectmen’s March 16 meeting was nearly constant during motions to hire interim Town Administrator Gregory Neffinger on a permanent basis and to remove Selectman Paul Federici as chair, both of which were approved.
Selectman William Gorman, who previously told Reminder Publications Federici was “blowing smoke up the public’s ass” and “lying through his teeth” with recent allegations of impropriety in the police chief search process, made the motion to remove Federici as chair and recommended Selectman Angela Thorpe take his place.
The day prior Thorpe came in last place during a preliminary election and will no longer serve as selectman after the April 12 Town Election. The motion was seconded by Thorpe and approved 2-0.
Federici has stated publicly Frank Keough III approached him sometime between late December 2015 and early January, suggesting Federici would receive a municipal finance position in exchange for his vote for certain police chief and permanent town administrator candidates.
Keough, a former Springfield city councilor who served three years in federal prison for stealing from Friends of the Homeless while he was its director, is now a political consultant.
Gorman said he believes Federici acted in an “improper manner,” which caused “us to lose faith in his ability to impartialy lead the board.”
He added that he believed Federici attempted to disparage the reputation of Neffinger via “innuendo and slanderous remarks” and also the board by “statements to the press that we believe to be false.”
When Gorman made a motion to hire 
Neffinger on a permanent basis, shouts erupted from the audience. Some audience members yelled, “Team Corruption,” which was one of Gorman’s slogans during his election campaign.
During the discussion potion of the motion, Federici stated one of the prerequisites for the interim town administrator job was that the individual hired would not be eligible to serve in a permanent capacity. His statement was met with applause and cheers from attendees.
“Everything I discussed last week is coming true, I just want you to know that,” he added, which was followed with a chant of, “We want Paul” from a large group of people.
Federici said if residents decide to approve a town charter on April 12, which calls for a council-manager form of government, Neffinger’s job would no longer exist. Hoots and cheering from the audience echoed throughout the Pleasant View Senior Center’s activity room after this statement was made.
The vote to appoint Neffinger was 2-1. Thorpe was appointed to negotiate Neffinger’s new contract.
Reminder Publications asked Federici after the meeting if he considers to vote to appoint Neffinger permanent town administrator illegal.
“There was maybe a technicality because when the job went out to bid again, after Mr. [Greg] Moyer left, there may not [be] that clause in there,” Federici noted. “But I know there’s people talking about trying to get an injunction to hold a [re-vote].”
Neffinger said he is still considering whether to take the job.
“I’m flattered that the board would offer it to me and I’m not sure if I’m going to take it,” he added. “And also people shouldn’t assume that a contract is going to be detrimental to the town of East Longmeadow. A contract is just a contract. A title is just a title.”
When asked about his opinion about the high level of public outcry regarding his appointment as permanent town administrator, Neffinger noted, “I’ve been in meetings like this before. I believe a small group of people try to rile up a larger group of people in order to prevent the will of the selectmen to go forward.”
Town Counsel James Donahue said he hasn’t reviewed Neffinger’s interim contract and wouldn’t do so unless asked by the board.
“[The selectmen] have a right to amend a contract if they choose to amend it,” he explained.
When asked whether she thought the original intent of the board was to start a search for a permanent town administrator, Thorpe said the board’s decision was to create “stability” in the community.
Neffinger’s tenure with the town has been marked with controversy, especially regarding his involvement in the police chief situation, specifically candidate and former West Springfield Police Capt. Daniel O’Brien.
Most recently, just days after Federici’s discussion with law enforcement personnel regarding his concerns with the search process, current police Chief Douglas Mellis received a letter from Neffinger stating his intentions to recommend the Board of Selectmen launch a full investigation into allegations of insubordination and conduct unbecoming the chief’s position.
In the March 15 letter, Neffinger cited Mellis’ appearance at an Appropriations Committee meeting as a sign of insubordination, stating the chief used the meeting “as a means to criticize the Board of Selectmen.”
He also stated while Mellis has the right to attend public meetings, he should have been aware his presence at the Police Chief Search Committee meeting on March 9 would create a hostile environment toward the committee.
Neffinger also alleged Mellis may have been part of “an organized effort to fomont [sic] public discord toward the reliability of the police chief search process” and he may have colluded with Farnsworth and West Springfield Police Chief Ronald Campurciani to disparage O’Brien’s reputation.
In addition, he stated it was brought to his attention Mellis may have been involved “with a Sargent [sic] and his threats toward a Selectman.”
Neffinger declined to release a copy of the letter or emails regarding Mellis sent from or received by his municipal email account in 2016, stating it was a “gray area” and he could not release them to the public.
Neffinger said the letter was between “employer and employee” and wasn’t meant to be disclosed publicly.
He stated, “I didn’t say [Mellis] was subordinate” and “this is not a warning letter.”
Reminder Publications submitted a public records request for the electronic correspondence to the town’s Information Technology (IT) Department and received a response letter from IT Director Ryan Quimby that stated 214 emails were found using the search terms “Doug Mellis” or “police chief.”
Quimby explained in the letter the emails were submitted to town counsel, who would redact non-public record material and the Board of Selectmen’s office would issue notification when the documents become available.
Federici said he had no part in drafting the letter, stating Gorman and Neffinger wrote it.
“[It] seems [Neffinger] doesn’t take much stock in the position of chairman,” he added. “What he doesn’t realize is that, as a result of the Villamaino years, a letter of that nature has to be brought to the board for approval. It cannot be sent out based on the say so of one board member.”
He continued, “Also Mr. Neffinger has to remember he is a town administrator not a town manager and he cannot act on matters without the consent of the full Board of Selectmen, not just one individual.”
Gorman denied assisting Neffinger in drafting the letter, but did confirm he was the selectman who was allegedly threatened.
He asserted a police sergeant told him, “If something happened up [at] my house, he might be a little slow coming up.”
Gorman declined to name the police sergeant, noting, “I’m not a little kid running home to their mommy … I’ll handle the thing myself.”
Mellis’ attorney, Austin Joyce, said a letter could be the foundation of a lawsuit regarding a violation of Mellis’ First Amendment civil rights.
He explained the content of Neffinger’s letter reprimands Mellis for attending public meetings with assertions of Mellis creating a “hostile atmosphere and public discord.”
Joyce added, “Such a lawsuit would seek compensatory damages, attorney’s fees and costs, and punitive damages, given the egregious rights infringement of this letter. We will confer with Chief Mellis about the wrongs inflicted upon him by this letter and discuss with him the available remedies.”
Also, while the Police Chief Search Committee voted unanimously at its March 9 meeting to recommend restarting the search process and renewing Mellis’ contract, which will expire March 31, the Thorpe-led Board of Selectmen chose to appoint East Longmeadow Police Sgt. Jeffery Dalessio as the town’s new chief of police. Dalessio was the only remaining finalist for the position. The two other finalists, O’Brien and Hampden Police Chief Jeff Farnsworth, withdrew from the running.
The motion, proposed by Gorman, stated that he would negotiate Dalessio’s contract, which would later need to be ratified by the other two selectmen. If a contract could not be negotiated, Gorman would name an interim police chief until a new search could be completed.
The selectmen did not at any point during the meeting address the Police Chief Search Committee’s recommendation.
Other elected officials in attendance shared their thoughts on the board’s decisions after the meeting.
Appropriations Committee Chair Eric Madison said he believes the actions by the board violated the will of the people.
“What we saw tonight was such an abuse of authority, a complete distortion of democracy,” he added. “This town has so many good people who basically volunteer their time to make this a great community to live in. To see this type of thing occur is a slap in the face to those good people by two elected officials and one appointed person. I’m so disgusted [and] so disheartened that these three malicious and evil people could or would do this.”
Planning Board Chair Ralph Page said he considers the vote to appoint Neffinger permanent town administrator illegal.
“It’s not allowed, I don’t believe it is, and it will not stand,” he added. “I don’t even believe it will stand until April 12.”
Board of Public Works Chair John Maybury said he was concerned with the selectmen’s decision in light of the voice of the public.
“The board did not recognize anyone for comments or concerns,” he noted. “Two of the select board members moved forward. It’s just concerning to me and certainly many others.”
He added he believes the decisions to name a new police chief and permanent town administrator happened due to reasons other than “appropriate reasons.”
School Committee Chair Richard Freccero declined to comment about the boards decisions, noting, “Our sentiments are what’s best for the kids and this town.”
Charter Commission Chair Dawn Starks said the board’s actions shows a “need to stabilize our town’s government.”
She added, “The charter is a step in the right direction because tax payers deserve a responsible and accountable form of government.”
The two remaining candidates for selectmen, William Arment and Kevin Manley, both voiced concerns with the board’s votes after the meeting.
Arment said he believes the actions taken by the board to be “corrupt.”
He added, “I think every decision made tonight was not in favor of the town of East Longmeadow. It’s further embarrassing this town and we need to get some people in here with integrity and I think this next election will bring this either way.”
Manley, who said he was on the fence about voting for the charter when he spoke to Reminder Publications the day before, noted he now supports the charter due to the board’s decisions during the meeting.
“We have to change,” he explained. “I can’t say enough after watching what happened here tonight and over the last two months what’s developed in this town ... Two people [have] manipulated a political system and pushed their own personal agendas. It’s now time that we need to move forward and grow as a community ... The charter needs to happen immediately.”
He called the appointment of Neffinger as permanent town administrator a “joke,” adding, “I think Greg Neffinger should have resigned a long time ago, as soon as the controversy came up.”
Manley added that he supports Dalessio being named police chief.
“Quite frankly, if we’re going to pay Doug Mellis $137,000 to sit at home while we hire another chief, I’d be happy to pay that to Neffinger to leave,” Manley stated.
Manley said if he were elected as selectmen he would move to return Federici to the chair as well as examine the contracts approved during the meeting.
“I would have to go back and consider looking at the contracts that were made under the administration currently,” he added. “First I would have to check to see if they’re even legal. There are some questions right now on that.”