Trustees say they won't resign
By Caitlyn Kelleher

Five recall petitions were submitted to the town clerk by the Sept. 14 deadline - one for each of the eligible trustees.

Town Clerk Lorraine Pease and the Board of Registras meet to certify the needed 400 signatures on Thursday, Sept. 21. But the results were not available for press time.

If there are enough signatures then the petitions will be presented to the Board of Selectmen and each of the trustees will have five days to decide if he or she will resign.

"I have already made that decision," said Trustee Paul McGrail. "I have no intention of resigning."

McGrail like fellow trustees Maureen Davi, Lisa Gordon and Matthew Alfond have all decided not to resign.

"I am not going to resign," Davi said. "There is an election every spring, I have gone through the process many times. There have been many opportunities to change the composition of the board."

The recall cites voters disagreement with the management of the library personnel and the design and oversight of the building project.

"My concern is - and similar to what is going on in Westminster - that this board doesn't understand ultimately what their role is," Heather Bussell said. "And that we won't be able to maintain the

We all understand in doing this petition that (reinstatement of LePoer's job) is not something that is going to happen as a result of that petition."

Bussell is one of the people spearheading the recall and the daughter of former library director Marja LaPoer.

"The next general election isn't until May it seems like an awful long time for the people that we don't feel like they are making good decisions to stay in making those decisions," she said.

Trustee Susan Duffy has already submitted her resignation.

She could not be reached for comment about her resignation.

Faith Anttila also resigned from the board. She gave her letter of resignation in August but would not give reasons for her departure.

A special election will be held and voters will get the choice of whether to recall each individual trustee and then vote for someone to fill the seat.

"If they are certified, no I will not resign," Gordon said. "I really want to see this trough the library building opening. I think it is shame that it is happening."

Gordon said she does not think recalling four members of the board in addition to the two trustees who have already resigned will serve the community at all.

" I am committed to the library," she said. "All I am doing as a trustees is what I believe is right for the library and town."

McGrail is also fighting the recall not only because he believes in his position on the board of trustees but also because of his other service to the town.

"I got involved in the town because I have something to offer to the town," he said. "There are other things in town that I am trying to contribute."

A computer technologist for IBM, McGrail is working to update the town's technology on a variety of levels.

"(The recall) is a colossal waste of the town's money," McGrail said. "We have a group of people in Ashby that are not happy with the way things have gone."

He and the other trustees agree that the process of building the library expansion and the termination of LePoer were public and people could have and should have become involved earlier if they disagreed.

"I think it is very easy to criticize after something happens," Alfond said. "It is a lot harder to make decisions as they happen."

He has served on the board for six years.

"Obviously there are people that feel very strongly on both issues," he said. "The trustees are elected to make sure the town's money is invested in the library the best way it can be. It has to be our primary consideration."

Bussell said she has gone to every one of the meetings and hearings about her mother's employment status.

"We did go to these meetings and these hearings," she said. "A lot of people did get up and speak. We feel very shut out."

She said the response she got when she was out speaking with residents about the recall was very positive.

"I would think that we will have enough signatures," she said.

Many of the trustees think that there is misinformation in the town about the recall and its reasons.

Gordon said she wants people to call her and ask questions about the decisions that have made to the board.

"I think we have done the best any board could do in the last couple of years," she said.

Davi said she is not focusing on the 'who' of the signatures but wants people to realize the reasons for the decision the board has made.

"It is just a difficult and unfortunate situation," she said.

She said the situation with LePoer was a long process as was the building project.

"Any project has a life span," she said. The longer people wait to get involved the harder it is to change gears."

Trustees John Mickola, Sally Bauman and Susan Duffy could not be recalled from the board because each was reelected in April at the town election.

Bauman said she thinks that there is a lot of confusion about the reason for the recall petitions and said there is a lot of false information circulating through town.

"It is very upsetting to us," she said. "It's very confusing to the residents. I think the actual purpose of the petition that was written on the petition wasn't explained."

Bauman said she thinks that in the end that the results will be in favor of the trustees.

"We haven't seen what the actual numbers are," she said. "I'm not convinced this is the end."

The veteran of the board said she stands by her fellow trustees.

"This is a group of professional people," she said. "We are people who are used to making business decisions. We're a thinking group."

-  - Caitlyn Kelleher can be reached at (978) 827-3386, ext. 15, or e-mail: caitlynkelleher@aol.com