Cemetery-parking agreement ignored public, complaint by Town Meeting member says

Parking at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery will continue while work on the Community Safety Building continues, the cemetery board has decided.

Following that action at an Aug. 14 meeting, Stephen Harrington, a Precinct 13 Town Meeting member who videotaped the session, filed an Open Meeting Law complaint with the state.

It alleges an agreement about cemetery parking had been reached, and voted on, at an Aug. 8. 2011, meeting. He also said in the complaint was not permitted to videotape the Aug. 14 public meeting. According to an account written under Harrington’s byline on Truepersons.com, Harrington was initially rebuffed by commission Chair Michele Hassler and later taped the meeting.

Read the full text of the complaint below.

Contrary to an Aug. 15 report in The Advocate, the issue of parking at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery parking was not listed on the Aug. 19 meeting agenda. The selectmen received no letter about it Aug. 19.

Deputy Town Manager Andrew Flanagan said Monday, Aug. 19, that he has no letter to release and that he did not speak to reporter Spencer Buell, whose byline is on the story. “I don’t know where he got it,” Flanagan told YourArlington.

Buell has not responded to an Aug. 19 request for comment.

An Aug. 19 online story addresses the issue under the headline “Cemetery parking letter already emailed to Arlington selectmen.”

Email from deputy town manager

In an email to selectmen Aug. 14, Flanagan wrote:

“I attended the Cemetery Commission’s meeting this morning in order to respond to any concerns regarding parking in the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery. The Commission provided Mr. [Stephen] Harrington with an opportunity to state his concerns; however, [the board] decided to continue to support the current practice which includes overflow parking in the cemetery during construction and when training is being conducted in the Community Safety Building.

“The Commission understands that while this arrangement may not be ideal, it is necessary given the lack of parking capacity in the area.”

Following the Aug. 14 meeting, Harrington filed a complaint under the state’s Open Meeting Law, alleging an agreement had been reached about cemetery parking, and voted on, at an Aug. 8. 2011, meeting. He also said in the complaint was not permitted to videotape the Aug. 14 public meeting. According to an account written under Harrington’s byline on Truepersons.com, Harrington was initially rebuffed by commission Chair Michele Hassler and later taped the meeting.

Harrington says Dunn denies request to speak

In an email to Town Meeting members, Harrington, a Precinct 13 member, wrote:

“As some of you may be aware, I have been trying to work with the Town to end the practice by municipal employees and contractors of using Mount Pleasant Cemetery as a parking lot and as a cut through to avoid traffic on Chestnut and Mystic streets.

“Board of Selectmen chair Dan Dunn denied my request to speak to this issue during the Monday, August 19 Selectmen’s meeting without any explanation.

“Instead of being allowed the opportunity to discuss this rationally and objectively with officials in a public forum, I will present evidence and facts why the use of Mount Pleasant Cemetery as a parking lot is inappropriate, unnecessary, needlessly expensive and disrespectful in a detailed exposition published here and at the link below:

“http://truepersons.com/2013/08/18/mount-pleasant-cemetery-municipal-parking-lot/

“I respectfully request that you take the time to review the evidence I present and decide for yourself whether the practice of using Mount Pleasant Cemetery as a parking lot and public way should be allowed to continue.  

“I also respectfully request that you sign the petition to end this practice or by following the link:
http://www.change.org/petitions/arlington-ma-board-of-selectmen-stop-municipal-employees-from-parking-in-mount-pleasant-cemetery.”

Dunn responds

Asked to comment, Dunn wrote in an email late of Aug 19:

“Mr. Harrington had shared his feelings on the cemetery at the previous selectmen meeting, and I didn’t think we needed to cover it a second time.

“If Mr. Harrington had chosen to attend tonight’s meeting and requested to speak at Citizens’ Open Forum, he most certainly would have been permitted to speak.”

Full text of Open Meeting Law complaint

Here is the full text of the Open Meeting Law complaint filed by Stephen Harrington of 74 Columbia Road. He is a Precinct 13 Town Meeting member.

The public body that is the subject of the complaint is the Arlington Cemetery Commission.

The specific persons named are Michele Hassler, commission chair, (two alleged violations) and, William McCarthy, commission member (one).

The complaint alleges the following occurred:

“During the regularly scheduled public meeting of the Arlington Cemetery Commission on August 14, 2013, chair of the Commission, Michele Hassler, stated that she entered into an agreement with the Chief of Police Frederick Ryan, the Chief of the Fire Department Robert Jefferson and Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine to allow municipal employees, their private vehicles, town owned vehicles and commercial vehicles of contractors to use the Mount Pleasant cemetery for parking in direct contradiction of a lawful vote of the entire commission on August 8,2011 where the commissioners voted to enact a ‘No Parking Except for Cemetery Business’ regulation and place signs Indicating this regulation. At the same meeting, commissioner William McCarthy also stated he spoke to the Chief of Police allowing him the same exemption.

“At no time between the August 10; 2011 meeting and the August 14, 2013 meeting were these exemptions discussed in open meeting according to the published and approved meeting minutes of the Cemetery Commission.

“There are three appointed officials on the Arlington Cemetery Commission implying that these two commissioners, outside of any lawful public meeting, acted in concert to provide exemptions to the stated and publicly signed parking restriction policy. In addition, the commission has a stated policy that any exemptions must be made by a majority vote of the commissioners.

“In addition, chair Michele Hassler attempted to violate M.G.LCh30A Sec.20(e) refusing to allow me to record the public meeting on August 14, 2013 and along with commissioner McCarthy threatened to eject me from the open meeting for doing so.

“For a complete transcript of the August 14, 2013, meeting see the videos at http://truepersons.com/2013/08/14/hassled-erl”

Truepersons.com is a website managed by “Menotomy Observer,” who is believed to be Harrington.

The complaint for asks: What action do you want the public body to take in response to your complaint? Harrington answered:

“1. All Arlington Cemetery Commissioners undergo formal training of the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law and provide documentation of successful completion of said training.

“2. All exemptions and agreements to the ‘No Parking except on Cemetery Business’ regulation are hereby null and void.

“3. Any exemptions, agreements that allow anyone to park in the cemetery while not on cemetery business must include a public hearing with all affected lot owners and their heirs notified in advance by mail.”

The complaint concludes with the full text of the Harrington’s transcript of the Aug. 14 commission meeting, as reported at Truepersons.com.

This story was published Monday, Aug. 19, and updated the next day.