Dear Board of Selectmen, 28 March ‘07

I request that this letter be attached permanently to tonight’s minutes, as a record of how my interest in serving my town on the Planning Board has been treated by the Select Board.

When I first moved to Freedom from Montville, both Wilson Hess and Steve Bennett repeatedly asked me to serve on the Planning Board. I believed they had probably heard or read about my successes and accomplishments as chair of the Montville Planning Board. At the time, I declined, because my experience had been that these boards sometimes are so full of conflict that it can be thankless work.

But that opinion changed 180 degrees when I watched the Freedom Planning Board in action. I was tremendously impressed with how well they worked together and how intelligently and professionally they conducted themselves. I detected no conflict, and it was obvious that this Board didn’t suffer from the presence of any “anti-planning” members as plagued us in Montville at that time, 15+ years ago. So I decided that perhaps I could make a contribution to my town after all.

As you will remember, a sudden resignation by Carrie Bennett occurred last Nov. 15, 2006 created a vacancy on the Planning Board. I waited a week to be sure Carrie wouldn’t be changing her mind, and then sent a letter to the Selectmen asking to be appointed, with mention of my experience. The Selectmen also received a letter of recommendation from Montville, which has never been read at a meeting, as is customary at public meetings.

In addition, I attended a meeting and pointed out to the Select Board that appointments have been carried out haphazardly at best, with some openings posted, while other appointments were carried out in comparative secrecy. They were agreeable to my suggestion that they formulate a policy that is fair and consistent.

That proved to be an excuse to delay the process until mid-January, when I attended a meeting to remind them that they were now in violation of the Ordinance which gives them 60 days to fill vacant seats on boards. They said they were working on it. Tim Biggs suggested that since there was no policy when I volunteered, they could appoint me, and then develop their policy.
That idea fell on deaf ears, but finally they decided to post the position, as they should have done with every vacancy. The poster said, “Please Submit in Writing by Jan. 31, 2007”.
I resubmitted my letter.

While I was away for a month, Steve Bennett let it be known that he has been trying to dig up some kind of slander about me, by saying (quote), “I’ve heard some concerns about Glen Bridges.” No one is interested in this kind of dirty dealing, but in fact if these so-called “concerns” are not in writing, and are not coming from the Planning Board, then they would be totally irrelevant anyway. Actually, I have very strong support from most of the Planning board.

Also, while I was away, Tim Biggs left a message on my answering machine, thanking me for my patience, and asking me to be patient awhile longer until he got back from his trip, then he and Lyn would get my appointment done.

A day or two before Tim returned, Steve and Lyn appointed someone who neither applied in writing, nor made his interest known by Jan. 31st, and who probably is blissfully unaware of all the intrigue surrounding this position. To call this devious would be an understatement.

The fact of the matter is that, as the entire town knows, Steve Bennett has been trying to subvert the wind turbine application process in any way he can, especially by stacking various boards with citizens who have made it known that they are “anti-windmill”, in belligerent violation of the state statutes regarding conflict of interest.

I request that this history be part of the public record, and I would advise Steve Bennett to reflect on the wisdom of carrying out a vendetta against everyone who disagrees with him, as that number amounts to hundreds of Freedom residents and is growing steadily.

Sincerely,

Glen Bridges