What
could possibly go wrong?
Charlestown Town Councilor Dan Slattery arrives for the meeting |
By
Will Collette
You
may have seen the notice, or saw Cynthia
Drummond’s article in the Sun, but the controversial “summit” meeting of
leaders from Charlestown, Hopkinton and Richmond with members of the Chariho
School Committee and school administration will take place on Thursday at 6:30
PM in the Chariho High School cafeteria.
Charlestown
Town Councilor Dan Slattery resisted, essentially saying the
meeting would have to take place over his dead body, but he was ultimately
talked off the ledge by Town Council Boss Tom Gentz and CCA Party patronage
appointee to the Chariho School Committee Ron Areglado.
While
they all admit the meeting is an utter waste of time, neither Gentz nor Areglado
could pass up the opportunity to bloviate in front of a public meeting. As an
enticement to Slattery, there is an agenda listing for Slattery’s current
favorite paranoid fantasy, the non-existent “single-taxing
district.”
The discussion about Chariho funding and taxes ought to go real well, especially after the public flogging Richmond dished out to Slattery and his Council colleagues.
The
agenda, shown below, is a carefully negotiated framework for failure. Note that
the meeting will be called to order not once, but four separate times with
multiple sets of introductions and opening comments.
Each
town was permitted to submit two agenda items, but the first order of business
is for the towns to vote on whether to discuss a submitted item. Unless all
three towns, plus the school committee, agree to discuss a submitted agenda
topic, it is stricken from the agenda.
Ron Areglado warming up for the big event |
The
good news is that this could allow for a very short meeting, allowing the
participants more time to get into fist fights out in the parking lot. That is, unless they can't agree on a motion to adjourn.
I think
the size of the body count will depend on whether Slattery comes to the meeting
dressed as Crocodile Dundee, or is wheeled into the meeting Hannibal-Lector-style.
Bear
in mind that this meeting is out-going Council member Slattery’s last official opportunity to take a
very large bite out of his enemies in the other two Chariho School District
towns, so anything could happen.
Here
is the agenda: