Carefully orchestrated meeting of Chariho towns on tap for Thursday

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

Let’s bear in mind that the three towns, plus the school committee, hold a consensus on virtually nothing. It's quite possible, maybe even likely, that the only consensus will be that they have nothing to say to each other.

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: