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Date: 4/17/2023
MONSON — The Select Board meeting on April 11 covered an investigation report of a complaint from board member Mary Hull, along with other issues such as the problem of crumbling concrete foundations and the restart of community conversations with the board and residents.
Board Chair Pat Oney began the meeting by addressing town residents, saying, “Your town government has been the subject of multiple complaints from Select Board member Mary Hull. I believe we’re up to 16 Open Meeting Law complaints and one Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination complaint. The state government is addressing those according to their own protocols and we will bring the resolutions forward to you when we receive them.”
In the meantime, Oney said, there is a complaint from Hull addressed to town counsel, board member John Morrell, and Oney, written in an email dated March 21. The email “requested that an investigation be done relative to gifts from Pat Oney and/or [Town Administrator] Jennifer Wolowicz to, during the investigation conducted by Safety and Respect in the Workplace.”
Safety and Respect at Work LLC was contracted by the town to investigate Wolowicz’s May 16, 2022 written complaints regarding Hull that alleged she violated the town’s code of conduct policy. Jean Haertl, the firm’s founder and president, was the sole investigator.
Oney said that her response to Hull’s email was to ask town counsel to address this request as she did not think “appropriate for anyone here to do so. Please note that I did not specifically direct him on how to proceed.”
The next email was from town counsel to the Select Board and attorney Timothy Netkovick, asking that the attorney begin the investigation.
On April 5, the completed report was sent out, which stated that Hull was interviewed for the investigation, along with Wolowicz, Oney, and Haertl.
The report said Hull “stated she had asked for correspondence between Pat Oney and Jean Haertl and came across gifts. I asked Mary Hull to send whatever documents she may have. I did not receive any documents.”
The report said that both Oney and Wolowicz denied giving any gifts to Heartl, and Heartl denied receiving gifts from anyone during the Safety and Respect in the Workplace investigation.
“Wolowicz did state that the town bought Haertl a sandwich for lunch, but Haertl said she had no recollection of this and brought her own food in her purse,” the report said.
In summary of the report findings, there was no evidence of gifts exchanged between Oney, Wolowicz and Haertl during the Safety and Respect in the Workplace investigation. On April 5, Mary Hull emailed attorney Netkovich asking for the process he used to conduct the investigation and asserted that he did not follow through on correspondence with her.
Hull said she did not think the attorney provided her with adequate assistance and questioned Oney and Wolowicz’s interactions with Haertl during the Safety and Respect in the Workplace investigation. Hull said, “The reason that I thought there may have been a gift was that the heading of an email was ‘Happy Birthday.’”
Morrell said of Safety and Respect in the Workplace investigative report, “The report says to offer individual training to Hull on respectful workplace discourse, and engage an outside professional to offer ongoing coaching and training to the town administrator. So both of the people that were complained about, it was recognized in the investigation report.”
Morrell asked Hull and Wolowicz if they had acted on these recommendations and followed the report’s suggestions. Hull said that she had not, Wolowicz said that she had.
Oney expressed her frustration with the amount of money spent by the town because of Hull’s behavior, the time and effort that she thinks Hull has cost town employees, and that Hull’s assumption of misconduct on the part of Oney and Wolowicz due to an email heading of “Happy Birthday” was unbelievable.
Morrell said he thought there was another complaint on the next meeting agenda against Hull, however, the matter was not discussed further after that.
Crumbling concrete
Michelle Loglisci of the homeowner’s advocacy group, Massachusetts Residents Against Crumbling Concrete appeared before the board to inform the public of the harm crumbling concrete foundations are causing in the state and the legislation that is being proposed to rectify the issue.
Loglisci said that while no one is to blame for the crumbling concrete, foundations are still being poured that are in danger of deteriorating over the years. The reason for this deterioration, Loglisci said, is due to a mineral called pyrrhotite that is used in making cement, and that quarries have to start being rigorously tested for contamination of this mineral to prevent faulty concrete from being produced and used.
There is a bill proposed to start quarry testing and provide reimbursement funds for homeowners facing this problem, Loglisci said, and asked for the public and the boards support in helping to get the legislation passed.
Loglisci said the public can find information on this at massrcf.com and on the Massachusetts Residents Against Crumbling Concrete Facebook page.
Community conversations
Oney said the community conversations that Wolowicz scheduled with the public and the board members to discuss issues and concerns would be starting again. Oney said it is an opportunity for residents to talk about bigger issues such as schools, the trash removal system, government structure, and the budget among other things.
Fiscal year 2024 final budget
Finance Director Jamie Farnum reported the finance committee recently voted on each category of the budget, which totaled $28.4 million. The overall increase in the operating budget was 2.42%.