Town Meeting’s vote last month to block a transfer of free cash to Harvard’s capital fund continued to reverberate in at least one town committee this week.
In a split decision, the Board of Selectmen voted 3-2 Tuesday night to send a formal letter of apology to the members of the Capital Planning and Investment Committee (CPIC), pledging to “show leadership” in the future “when circumstances arise that may cause disagreement between town boards and committees” and praising CPIC’s “professionalism and objectivity.”
The letter was drafted by Chairman Ron Ricci, who read or paraphrased its content during discussion. Copies were distributed to board members but not to the public. The Press obtained a copy of the draft Wednesday morning, but the final letter, as amended, was not yet available.
The board’s letter of apology was a response to a letter sent to the selectmen by CPIC Chairwoman Deborah Ricci, the wife of BOS Chairman Ron Ricci, on April 11 complaining of a “lack of civility” by Selectwoman Lucy Wallace—unnamed in the letter, but clearly its target—in the days leading up to this year’s Annual Town Meeting. Deborah Ricci and two other CPIC members appeared before the selectmen at their April 12 meeting, to expand on the letter’s content in emotional statements delivered during public comment. At the time, Ron Ricci promised to discuss CPIC’s concerns at a future meeting.
Mistakes were made
That promised discussion took place Tuesday night, the penultimate action item on the board’s agenda. It lasted nearly an hour. It was preceded by an appearance by former FinCom and CPIC member Alan Fraser, who read a strongly worded statement saying the Town Meeting vote was both “unnecessary” and “avoidable.” Chairman Ricci insisted that the board admit to having “made a mistake” in not supporting CPIC. Selectwoman Lucy Wallace opposed much of the letter’s content she said was “inappropriate” and largely directed at her. “I’d like some respect too,” she said at one point. Ken Swanton and new member Alice von Loesecke attempted to shift the debate to ways in which board policies might be improved to deal with future changes at Town Meeting.
Ricci had hoped that all five members of the board would sign his draft, but selectmen Stu Sklar and Wallace declared at the outset that neither would sign it, Sklar describing its contents as “bunk.” Both voted against the amended version that emerged from the night’s discussion.
As amended, the letter states that the Board of Selectmen “wishes to apologize” for “mistakes” it made that led to CPIC’s April 11 letter. “The BOS acknowledges that it failed to treat the CPIC with proper respect,” the letter reads. The letter also proposes a series of remedies, committing each BOS member to “read and understand the town’s capital bylaws and CPIC policies and procedures” and to take a “leadership role” in resolving future differences between committees.
During debate, Wallace protested that some elements of the letter were “demeaning” to her and other selectmen. She asked why BOS Chairman Ron Ricci himself had not supported CPIC at Town Meeting. She objected that the selectmen had yet to apologize to other boards that in her view had been disrespected by the selectmen, including the town’s Housing Partnership, the original Town Hall Building Committee, and more recently the Historical Commission and the Municipal Affordable Housing Trust, the latter two rocked by resignations. Wallace said Wednesday morning, however, that she had appreciated von Loesecke’s attempt to find compromise.
When it became clear that the selectmen would be unable to reach consensus on the wording of Ricci’s letter, Swanton moved to authorize the chairman to send it, as modified during the debate. Von Loesecke seconded the motion, which carried 3–2.
The letter will be signed by outgoing Chairman Ron Ricci, who led the meeting when the document was approved. Each member of CPIC will receive a copy.
