This week, the Select Board appears to have cut the legs out from under another committee formed by Town Meeting without first bringing a proposed change to voters.
The board unanimously voted to not reappoint Freddie Gillespie to the Open Space Preservation Commission (OSPC). Gillespie has served on the OSPC for 24 years and chaired it for the past 9.
The decision will leave the committee (with two other vacancies) without a quorum after June 30th.
Two members made clear the decision was about Gillespie, not the committee. But the other three indicated their opposition was appointing anyone while the board considers whether to consolidate it with the Stewardship Committee or another entity.
The board’s Tuesday night vote was despite hearing from several people urging for her reappointment. Supporters advocated for the importance of her conservation work and lauded her for her extensive volunteer efforts on behalf of the Town.
Some board members supported Gillespie continuing to serve another year on the Stewardship Committee. But they ran into a logistical roadblock that they plan to further discuss at their July 7th meeting.
Select Board’s Stated Motivations
Government Efficiency
On June 2nd, Select Board member Sam Stivers suggested holding Gillespie’s OSPC and Stewardship reappointments because he believed that the Select Board’s would include looking at consolidating the committees as part of it goals for this year.
At their June 8th goal setting meeting, the board did adopt the objective to:
Review boards, committees, and commissions for consolidation or restructuring
This week, Stivers said that, since they’re looking at potential restructuring, he didn’t want to appoint an OSPC member to another 5 year term. And he noted that Gillespie’s Stewardship appointment is linked. (She is in the seat designated for an OSPC representative.)
Vice Chair Tim Fling agreed with Stivers. Fling is the member charged with overseeing the related goal “to streamline” committees. He explained:
I think there’s an opportunity to re-evaluate open space and and kind of put that purview underneath another department or another committee
Prior to the vote, the Town Administrator confirmed to Select Board member Andrew Pfaff that the board could appoint Gillespie to a vacant seat that expires in just two years. Pfaff said he would be “more willing” to do that if anyone else was “on board”. But he didn’t get any takers.
It’s worth noting that if future Town Meeting voters eliminated or adopted changes to the committee, the terms of those currently serving on it would be irrelevant. (But, if the board chooses not to appoint members to a committee, they can effectively kill it without getting Town Meeting support.)
In a conversation I had with Select Board Chair Kathy Cook prior to their June 8th goal setting meeting, I asked her what efficiencies Select Board members believed could be achieved by combining Stewardship and the OSPC. (I noted that they had different responsiblities, and that neither had a quorum issue — yet). She cited OSPC’s ongoing issues in submitting timely minutes as an area that could be improved.1 That’s an issue that was raised the last time that the board discussed the potential change. And I verified that it hasn’t improved. (Scroll down for those details.)
When discussing whether the committees could be combined, Cook noted that despite public pushback, the change was “our decision”. As an ad hoc committee, the Stewardship Committe’s charge is up to the Select Board to decide. But the OSPC is charged under a bylaw passed by Town Meeting.
Later in the meeting, Gillespie told the board, “There is no way the stewardship committee can take on what the Open Space Commission did.”
She highlighted that one of their responsibilities is the Open Space & Recreation Plan. She said that she and a couple other people finished half of the report after the consultant left, and it was a “heavy lift”.
Looking for a Change
Select Board member Andrew Dennington shared a different perspective than Stivers and Fling. He understood the different defined functions of the two committees. He told the room that he respected Gillespie’s long work, but felt “it’s time for a change for that committee.” He advocated for new blood.
He didn’t address the committee’s already vacant seats, or how new blood could be introduced if other members were unwilling to appoint members to the committee.
Cited Problems with Gillespie
Cook was forthright that her reasons were different than the majority of the board’s. She asserted that she likes Gillespie, but opposed her reappointment based on actions she had taken in her role as OSPC Chair. She invoked controversial comments made two years ago by former Select Board member Al Hamilton when he held up some reappointments.
Hamilton had argued that people appointed by the Select Board should either agree to follow the Select Board’s direction and positions or resign. This week, Cook said she didn’t fully agree. But she did believe:
they certainly should row in the same direction that the select board is trying to go with our overarching goals.
She then specified two examples when she opined that Gillespie had not done that. One was related to her last-minute attempt to amend an important roads Article sponsored by the Select Board. The other was questions in a meeting with Costco officials that Cook characterized as having risked an important economic project. (Scroll down for more on those details.)
The Select Board Chair also claimed that she is “well aware” of Town employees who have issues about how Gillespie works with them. She described them as long standing issues that didn’t seem to have been abated.
Later, based on comments from other Select Board members and the Stewardship Chair, Cook did say that she would support Gillespie continuing her role on Stewardship.
Gillespie’s Defense
Gillespie both defended her actions in both of Cook’s examples, but also apologized “in hindsight”. (Scroll down for more on those details.)
Gillespie also spoke about her successes over decades, playing a leading role — including for the preservation of Chestnut Hill Farm. Responding to Cook’s overall criticism, she stated:
I never do anything to try to cause trouble or be in disagreement with a select board, but you know, on your side, when have you reached out to the Open Space Commission? . . .
You say to be on the same side. If you’re talking about developing land that has great open space value, and we’re the open space commission charged
to facilitate the preservation of open space, there’s going to be some butting of heads there. And the goal is to come together and find what’s best for the
town.
Supporters advocate for reappointment
The board acknowledged having received seven emails on Gillespie’s behalf, supporting her reappointment. In Gillespie’s comments, she added statements from two others.
She told them that former Select Board Chair John Rooney expressed his support. She noted that the two had butted heads when she opposed the Select Board’s proposal to build the public safety building on the golf course that she sought to preserve. In the end, the board supported a successful amendment proposed by the OSPC, “in what many consider Southborough’s grand compromise”.2
Gillespie also spoke about developer Dave Ferris, who she said called her a “class act”. Both OSPC and Stewardship had pushed back on Ferris Development’s original plans for a 40B at 118-120 Turnpike Road. 3 She told the board that Ferris respected the role OSPC played in finding a way for the project to move forward.
She used those examples to say that sometimes things were rough in the middle of working through issues, but it is the end results that she/the OSPC achieved that mattered.
Stewardship Committee Chair Joyce Greenleaf told the Select Board that Gillespie embodies qualities that Southborough should value in a volunteer “commitment, expertise, passion” and devoting “countless hours”.
She followed that habitats of Southborough’s conservation land and pollinator gardens “wouldn’t be here without Freddie in her leadership, her expertise, and her commitment.” Calling Breakneck Hill the “crown jewel of Southboro”, she noted its biodiversity, beauty, habitat, trails and research site for preservation of native pollinators.
Greenleaf listed projects and challenges her committee is dealing with and said:
Without Freddie, Stewardship’s effectiveness will be undermined. And I think those of us who volunteer in town will think twice about raising our hands and participating in town government
Speaking as a resident, Kristen Lavault also spoke passionately on Gillespie’s behalf:
I don’t understand what planet we would get rid of such a wealth of knowledge and source of help who puts her own life aside for the sake of this town. It blows my mind.
Lavault said the actions felt personal, but told Cook she would “leave it there”. What she chose not to mention was the similarity to the situation two years ago when Cook successfully advocated for Lavault to not be reappointed to the Community Preservation Commission (CPC).4.
Later, when the board discussed Gillespie’s Stewardship seat, Stewardship member Kathryn McKee told the board it wasn’t too late “to make this right”:
We can’t afford to lose this volunteer. We’ve tried to share that, but we hear what your concerns are. So, let her be part of the solution. That’s going to be a win-win for everybody. You don’t want this on your record, saying you denounce another volunteer. That’s a really bad look.
Examples of Gillespie’s “Inappropriate” Actions
Town Meeting Motion to Amend Article for Funding Road Projects
Cook objected to Gillespie’s last minute attempt at Annual Town Meeting to amend the Article to fund repairs to Town roads. She said that the first notice of the OSPC’s intent (voted on the afternoon of April 9th) was at 2:35 am the morning of the Saturday, April 11th meeting.5
At the Town Meeting, Gillespie made a motion to add language to reduce risk of the construction work causing new infestations of invasive knotweed or other species that cause problems. It included restricting “imported soils and material for backfill and site stabilization or any use related to these projects shall be certified weed-free”.
Cundiff told voters that the DPW didn’t currently have a standard for that request. He said that when he had asked Gillespie who would certify that soils were weed free, she didn’t have an answer.
Given the importance of the funding Article and the potential the amendment had to tank it, Cook argued that approach was inappropriate. She noted that the Article had been extensively publicly discussed in advance. She opined that Gillespie should have approached DPW Chief Bill Cundiff and/or the Select Board further in advance to discuss how to handle her concerns.
She also highlighted that the topic hadn’t been listed on the OSPC agenda for the meeting in which the committee voted to propose the amendment. (Scroll down for that detail and Gillespie’s response.)
Cook argued that Gillespie had jeopardized an important vote on the Town’s biggest funding article ever. It also added 20 minutes of debate to the Town Meeting — making it less efficient when the board was trying to streamline the meetings to improve voter engagement.
Gillespie responded that the OSPC’s actions were based on what they learned about lawsuits being filed in other towns after knotweed was introduced to abutting properties due to construction projects. She apologized for the way it was handled, but said they were responding to an issue that they had suddenly become aware of. She said it was a mistake, but “only in the effort of doing what was better for the town”
Later, Kristen Lavault suggested that the example should be taken off the table, given the actions of one of the current Select Board members at the same Town Meeting. She believed the OSPC was acting on information they learned about last minute, and the communication delay was because Gillespie was so busy. And she appreciated Gillespie educating voters about the potential costs and problems that new invasives could pose for the Town.
In contrast, she pointed out that Stivers had admitted at Town Meeting that he was pulling a fast one on the Planning Board by proposing a surprise amendment to their Industrial Park zoning Article.6
Costco Questions & Comments
Cook referred to the enthusiastic community support at Fall Town Meeting for zoning to allow potential development of a Costco in town. She described a “kickoff” meeting a few months ago that Town officials held with someone “way up the food chain of Costco”. At the meeting, the first two questions were from Gillespie asking what they are going to do about people who leave cars idling in the parking lot, and about plants.
Cook called that a “totally inappropriate” introduction to our town. She cited a news article about a Costco project that was cancelled in North Carolina when a town kept picking at the retailer about “more stuff” they wanted. She believed Gillespie’s comments could have jeopardized the project.
She acknowledged that Gillespie told her she had thought the project was a “done deal”.
On Tuesday, Gillespie said that her comments to Costco weren’t “out of the blue”. She explained that the project is:
in an area of the highest preservation for open space priorities and not once did anyone talk to us about what the impact of that will be to those properties as well as the over 85 acres of protected land around there.
She followed that she had a friendly relationship with Costco representatives who had approached her previously at another meeting. She didn’t think that her comments were adversarial. She noted that the meeting was for Costco to get feedback. She wanted them to be able to incorporate thinking into their plans before they were drawn, rather than incurring a later expense to redraw them.
OSPC Agenda & Minutes Issues
When Cook discussed the OSPC vote to propose amending the road funding Article, she noted that it wasn’t on the committee’s posted agenda. Gillespie responded that she had believed it was covered by the item “Roadside Invasives”.
It’s worth noting that the actual agenda item had been a longstanding item typically on every agenda, with additional language that made it seem unrelated to the proposed road funding Article:
- Master Plan and OSRP Review
- Roadside Invasive Program and Native Plants
According to Gillespeie, after Dennington stated at Town Meeting that the board’s vote wasn’t on the agenda, she realized the topic may have been too vague. She reached out to the state and was informed that they could resolve the issue at their next meeting. She said they voted to do that.
That action is reflected on the April 16th agenda, but no minutes are posted explaining it. That’s not surprising given that they haven’t met again since, and for years the committee has had unposted/overdue minutes.
When the Select Board last publicly floated the idea of combining the committees in June 2024, Cook pointed to issues with Meeting Minutes as one of the ways efficiency could be improved. While Stewardship’s minutes weren’t an issue. OSPC had a history of late/missing minutes.
At the time, Gillespie took responsibility for OSPC’s issues. She said that there had been turnover and lack of understanding of responsibilities by less experienced members but that it had been her responsibility to see it got done. She promised they were working on it, stating that the biggest holdup was putting together the documents discussed at each meeting. She believed that would be done within a month.
Since then only a few more OSPC Minutes were posted. As of today, minutes were still unposted for more than a dozen meetings over the past few years.7 OSPC meetings are usually conducted without a remote option, so there is no video to aid with public transparency (or with subsequent compiling of minutes.)
Not appointing Gillespie may make cleaning up OSPC’s outstanding minutes issue more challenging. But, her term doesn’t expire until June 30th.
Gillespie’s Stewardship Committee Seat in Question
The decision also eliminated (at least temporarily) Gillespie’s ability to serve on the Stewardship Committee.
Pfaff and Dennington voted to appoint Gillespie to another one year term on the Stewardship Committee. But Stivers pointed out that the only currently available seat is the one Gillespie currently serves in — OSPC’s designated representative on the committee.
It’s a role that Gillespie has served in on and off dating back to the committee’s inception in 2005. (It appears more years on than off.)
After Pfaff pointed to Greenleaf’s comments of support for Gillespie on her committee, and noted it was a one year seat, Cook supported the appointment. She suggested that the board could make a change to Stewardship’s composition.
McKee offered to immediately give up her at-large seat if the board would appoint Gillespie to it. Fling pushed against an appointment that night. He told the room that he didn’t want to lose Gillespie, but believed there would be “space for her”. But he wanted to first review potential committee changes.
Dennington called for tabling the decision on the Stewardship appointment to their next meeting. (That’s scheduled for Tuesday, July 7th.)
- In my call with Cook, she said that she agreed with the assessment that the Town has too many committees. But given the public pushback and other things she wants the board to focus on, combining OSPC and Stewardship wasn’t a goal that she personally prioritized.
- The 2017 compromise united residents who wanted to support a new combined police and fire station with many of the residents who sought to preserve the St. Mark’s Golf Course for play, and keep the town or others from developing buildings on it. Town Meeting voters agreed to purchase the course, conserve most of it (with some changes to make it workable), and pay for building the public safety complex.
- Ferris Development initially didn’t plan to honor the prior owner’s promised gift to the Town of an undeveloped portion of the property as an addition to abutting Breakneck Hill Conservation Land. Issues were eventually worked through and a 40B permit approved. It’s still unclear though whether the developer will move forward to develop that project.
- In 2024, Cook claimed that she had reason to believe that LaVault had been acting in animus to her and the board. Following Lavault’s removal as the Recreation Commission representative on the CPC, the committee convinced Town Meeting to revise the bylaws, allowing committees to pick their own representatives. Once the change was passed, Lavault was reappointed by the Recreation Commission to the CPC. In a later meeting, the Select Board (including Cook), did vote to reappoint Lavault to her seat on the Recreation Commission.
- The vote had been taken that Thursday afternoon.
- Stivers made a motion to greatly relax the restrictions on AI Data Centers that the Planning Board’s zoning Article proposed. Lavault noted that he made the surprise proposal when the number of ATM attendees was about 100 voters. At the meeting, Stivers acknowledged that he had attended the hearings on the proposed bylaw, but intentionally waited to state his opinion at Town Meeting because he didn’t believe the Planning Board would be a receptive audience.
- OSPC’s oldest overdue minutes are from November 9, 2023. In 2024 minutes were only posted for 2 of 12 meetings. And none have been posted yet for the 6 meetings that took place in 2025 and 2026.
Minutes from their July 5, 2024 meeting state: “We tabled approving minutes. We discussed the meeting minutes process and committed to update the town clerk weekly.” At their subsequent meeting, they approved the minutes for July 5th and two other meetings (in May 2024 & 2023). But the minutes make no mention of why other minutes weren’t approved, and no others have been posted since.
