WELLFLEET — The select board replaced Ryan Curley with Barbara Carboni in the chair’s seat at its July 18 meeting, apparently bringing to a conclusion a conflict between Curley and the rest of the board that remains unexplained.
The move to unseat Curley came into public view during the board’s July 11 meeting, when member Kathleen Bacon read a statement during the public comment period asserting that Curley had tried to stop multiple attempts to reorganize the board.
“Two members of the select board have requested an agenda item to reorganize the select board,” Bacon said. “This request has been ignored and dismissed by chair Curley. It has put select board members in an awkward and uncomfortable position. We feel a reorganization of the board as expeditiously as possible is in the best interest of the town.”
The origin of the turmoil, however, is unclear. It was the subject of an executive session held on June 27, according to several board members. Executive sessions are exceptions to the state’s open meeting law and are closed to the public and the press. According to the agenda, the June 27 session was held “to hear complaints against a public official or employee.”
Two days later, on June 29, board member Michael DeVasto submitted a formal request that reorganization of the board be added to the July 11 meeting agenda, DeVasto told the Independent. He said that a week later Bacon made the same request.
Because they are not authorized to discuss what happened at an executive session, board members declined to elaborate on their reasons for wanting a new chair. “Our hands are tied,” said John Wolf, who was elected vice chair on July 18.
At the July 18 meeting, residents urged the board to explain the sudden reorganization. “Something did happen,” Bacon said, “and it happened in an executive session, and until those minutes can be released, we are not able to discuss it. But know that it was serious enough to call for a reorganization.”
The conflict was about “differences of opinions” regarding Town Administrator Rich Waldo, Curley told the Independent.
“There are areas where his performance needs to improve,” Curley wrote in an email, “and the board is uninterested in learning about some of the issues that have arisen around his handling of town finances and staffing.
“There was also multiple breaches of state ethical standards in regards to the confidentiality of executive sessions,” Curley continued, “as well as conflict of interest disclosures or lack thereof.” He did not elaborate.
Waldo declined to comment, citing the confidential nature of the subject.
According to DeVasto, after he and Bacon both submitted requests to reorganize the board at its July 11 meeting, Curley sent the other board members a letter on July 6 stating that he would step down as chair after a special town meeting scheduled for September.
That letter, which was unsigned and undated, was sent to the Independent by Curley. “There are a lot of moving parts in the lead-up to [the special town meeting],” Curley wrote. “There are also other confidential personnel matters that I will not disclose until necessary within a similar time frame. There are significant differences between myself and TA Waldo. I will avoid putting them in writing at this time.”
On July 11, reorganization of the board was not on its agenda. During that meeting, a motion made by DeVasto to place reorganization on the board’s July 13 meeting agenda quickly devolved into a screaming match between DeVasto and Curley.
Curley refused to entertain DeVasto’s motion, saying it was “out of order” and that the town charter does not allow for reorganization of the board more than once a year. The charter states: “All boards, commissions, and committees of the Town shall organize annually.”
DeVasto called Curley’s argument “bullshit,” and Curley responded, “I’m filing immediately with state ethics. You and Kathleen both violated state ethics. You are violating my rights.”
After remaining silent for some minutes, Wolf finally spoke up. “Our rights at this point are secondary to the interests of the town in keeping our town administrator,” he said. “I suggest we put our individual concerns about these rights aside and schedule a reorganization for the next select board meeting.”
The board voted 4-1 to place reorganization on the July 13 agenda, with Curley dissenting. The members agreed they would wait to hear from Town Counsel Carolyn Murray on the legality of DeVasto’s motion.
Murray’s opinion, received the next day, confirmed that the board could place reorganization on its July 13 agenda. “While the chair may be responsible under the [open meeting law] for preparing the list of topics to be discussed at a meeting, this is not to suggest that the chair alone controls the topics to be discussed,” Murray wrote. “Indeed, the chair is one of five equal members of the select board, and members may request or even vote to discuss a topic at a future meeting, and in my experience such requests are routinely honored.”
Murray also confirmed that the charter does not preclude multiple reorganizations from happening in a single year, Wolf told the Independent.
But reorganization was not on the agenda on July 13 either. During the public comments portion of the July 13 meeting, DeVasto accused Curley of taking the item off the agenda, which Curley denied. Waldo said that the item did not make it onto the agenda in the first place. With Bacon absent from that meeting, the board agreed to move the reorganization vote to July 18.
Despite Curley’s seeming reluctance to give up the chair, he voted with the rest of the board to elect Carboni chair on July 18.
“I am looking forward to stepping back to a lesser role,” Curley told the Independent. At the July 18 meeting, Curley said, “I should have stepped back from being the chair at the annual reorganization a couple of months ago.”
Curley had been chair of the board for two years. He was reelected chair on May 2 by a 4-1 vote, with DeVasto opposed. He was reelected to serve another three-year term on the board at May’s annual town election.
Wolf later said, “When I was elected to serve on the board, I nominated Ryan for chair, and during the last reorganization, I nominated him again. None of this is easy for me, but I believe it is necessary.
“I am going to urge that once this situation is resolved we waste as little time as possible in approving the minutes of the executive session for release,” Wolf added. “It’s important that the public understands what led to this.”
