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Date: 9/22/2021
HAMPDEN – After three weeks, six candidates and two rescheduled hearings, the Hampden Board of Selectmen (BOS) and Planning Board voted at a joint meeting to appoint Heather Beattie and Christina Broder Mascaro to the Planning Board.
The two will occupy the seats left vacant after the August departure of Robert Howarth and Phil Schneider, which left the Planning Board unable to vote on two special permits for controversial self-storage facilities.
“I look at this board as a big tool box,” Planning Board interim Chair John Matthews said after the interviews on Sept. 15. He said he was looking for skills, or tools, that would add to those of the existing members. Planning Board member Jason Barroso explained that he was looking for members of the board who would reflect the demographics of the town, including how long members had lived there.
Beattie, a former nurse and lawyer, had applied for a seat the last time an opening had occurred between elections, which all three Planning Board members appreciated. While she had minimal experience with schematics and blueprints, her legal background was considered a benefit.
“Her professional opinion would be a major asset,” said Barroso.
On their second recommendation, the Planning Board was originally split between Brodeur Mascaro and Donald Collins, but eventually agreed on Brodeur Mascaro. Matthews said he was “impressed” with her and appreciated “young people taking an interest in the town.” He also expressed appreciation of the diversity she would add as a woman on the board. Barroso said he liked how she described her problem solving method.
BOS member Craig Rivest asked Beattie and Brodeur Mascaro why they had not previously run for the Planning Board. Brodeur Mascaro explained that though she had grown up in town, she only recently moved back and wanted to get involved. Beattie said she was now retired and was, “interested in doing something new, something where I can contribute.”
BOS member John Flynn told the members of the Planning Board that he would have suggested a candidate other than Brodeur Mascaro, but he trusted the unanimous recommendation of the three Planning Board members.
Collins, who had previously served on the Planning Board, was approved by the Planning Board as an alternate candidate should the BOS reject one of the others. At the joint meeting on Sept. 20, BOS Chair Donald Davenport moved toward doing just that, replacing Brodeur Mascaro with Collins, but Matthews explained that Collins had come to the Planning Board after the Sept. 15 meeting and expressed relief at not being chosen.
Despite this, Davenport nominated Collins to fill one of the seats. With no one seconding the motion, a vote was not taken. Both boards then voted unanimously to seat Beattie and voted for Brodeur Mascaro 4 to 2, with BOS member Craig Rivest and Davenport dissenting.
The other candidates, David Demers, Marq Mosier and Richard Muise, had a variety of skills and experience. Matthews described them as “a lot of good people,” and Davenport quipped, “They were all excellent candidates. For the people that don’t get it, I’m already lining them up for other boards.”
Matthews teared up when he addressed Barroso and Planning Board member Madison Pixely and said, “Thank you to the members of the board for sticking it out.”
Process Controversy
Even the process of interviewing and choosing candidates was not without its own controversy. Davenport had stated from the beginning that his preference was for both boards to interview the candidates, but the Planning Board was adamant that the rules laid out a process in which the Planning Board interviews and recommends candidates, who are then voted on at a joint meeting of the two boards.
After the first set of three interviews, during which the Planning Board included previously submitted questions from Davenport, Davenport had stated at a Sept. 13 Board of Selectmen meeting that he had reached out to the Planning Board asking that both boards interview the remaining three candidates together. He said the Planning Board turned him down and questioned his motivation, which he said boiled down to efficiency and the Board of Selectmen’s responsibility to make an informed vote.
“So we’re left with three options,” Davenport said. “We can wait for their recommendations and then rubber-stamp it, which I will not do.” The other two options he laid out were for the BOS to reinterview all candidates or attend the Sept. 15 meeting, “with no input” and then see what recommendations were made. The third option is the one that the BOS chose. Davenport called the process “very discouraging.” At the time, Flynn said he saw an avenue to participate in the process via the questions submitted from Davenport.
At the Sept. 15 meeting of the Planning Board, Matthews addressed Davenport’s comments. He assured the BOS and the public that the Planning Board was not making a “power play.”
“If we wanted to change the process,” it would be after “a thorough review,” Matthews said. “I’m trying to be open and honest with everyone here tonight. We’re not looking for a ‘rubber stamp’ from the Board of Selectmen.” He added that the board was looking for individuals with whom they would like to work in the long term.
Davenport announced on Sept. 20 an article for the Annual Town Meeting in the spring to amend the bylaw and codify a process in which the BOS would interview candidates for boards alongside members of the board in question.
The special permit hearings that had been scheduled for Sept. 8 and Sept. 15 were postponed until Sept. 28 and Sept. 29, with consent from the petitioners.