Plainville: Open Meeting Law Violation

There was much at Monday's [March 26] meeting of the Plainville Selectmen's meeting that was reminiscent of Middleboro's attempt to ignore the Open Meeting Law and much else.

For whatever reason, Plainville's town fathers seem content in an overcrowded meeting room, maybe believing it's cozy and intimate, sitting on your neighbor's lap while viewing a public meeting, barely able to hear, with some forced to stand in the hall, unable to hear to meeting.

And there was a Plainridge person lurking in a side room where file cabinets were clearly visible, periodically stepping out of the darkened cubby to comment.

Hopefully, this will be corrected before a complaint is the only resolution.


This was sent to the Plainville Board of Selectmen by a Plainville resident:

Dear Rob, Bob, and Andrea,

While I know the number of residents who showed up for your meeting on Monday, March 26th was somewhat unexpected, I must take issue with the answer that was given to the gentleman who raised the question of access for those people stuck out in the hall. He was told, somewhat dismissively, "It's on television."

Surely you know that watching the meeting on television is not considered "access". The Massachusetts Open Meeting Law ensures that meetings of public bodies, with a few exceptions, are open to the public. That has been interpreted by the Massachusetts Attorney General's office to mean that those meetings should be accessible (according to the ADA), and that they accommodate all who want to attend. Accommodation does not mean standing out in the hall.

In addition, according to the law, meeting locations must be accessible by wheelchair, without the need for special assistance; the chairs in your office are crowded together, cheek-by-jowl, making access by a wheelchair, without the need for special assistance, impossible.

Looking ahead, I request that all meetings having anything to do with expanded gambling at Plainridge, or any other issue that might well draw more people than can be accommodated in the tiny selectmen's office, be held at the Senior Center. I can assure you that, in the case of meetings about the slot barn, the number of people in attendance will be well beyond the capacity of the selectmen's office. Perhaps you should start having all selectmen's meetings at the Senior Center anyway; it's more welcoming than sitting in a crowded office, and it might well inspire more citizen participation.

In addition to capacity, I would like to request that the board speak up during meetings. I am often unable to hear a good bit of what's said, and I have had other people tell me that portions of the meeting are indecipherable, even on the television. As my grandmother used to admonish me, "Sing out, Louise!" (It took me years to realize that she was quoting GYPSY, not forgetting my name.)

If we want residents to take an interest in and responsibility for what happens in Plainville, we must follow the letter and the spirit of the Open Meeting Law. I have not filed a complaint with the Attorney General's office because I hope we can resolve this matter without intervention.

Thank you.

Best regards,