By Beth David, Editor
In a short, but lively meeting, the Fairhaven Board of Public Works rescinded their 1/11/18 vote to hire Jeff Furtado for Water Department Superintendent, then voted to hire him again, at a special meeting on Thursday, 1/25. The re-vote came after Town Counsel Thomas Crotty advised the board to do it all over again because the agenda item for the 1/11 meeting did not make it clear that they would be voting.
Hires are supposed to be voted on in open session. In executive session, which is not open to the public, preliminary interviews can be held, and contracts can be negotiated. Executive Session proceedings are confidential until the matter is resolved.
The first gaff was when the board voted to make a hire in executive session. According to an account by Robert “Hoppy” Hobson at the 1/25 meeting, the board first voted to hire the second finalist from Foxborough. Then, when they realized they needed to take that vote in open session, they reconvened in open session a few days later, on 1/11. In the meantime, a board member changed his vote and Mr. Furtado, who works for the Fairhaven Water Department, was hired on a 3-2 vote, with Chairperson Mike Ristuccia, Brian Wotton, and Cameron Durant voting for Jeff Furtado; and Mr. Hobson and Keith Silvia voting for Thomas Weir of Foxborough. That is the vote that needed to be redone.
There may also be some problem with the latest vote, on 1/25, however, as the chairperson did not allow any public comment before the vote, despite a room jam-packed with more than 20 people.
The crowd was quiet for about 15 minutes as the meeting was delayed, waiting for BPW chairperson Mike Ristuccia to arrive. He said he got stuck in Boston traffic.
When the meeting started, Public Works Superintendent Vinnie Furtado (no relation to Jeff), explained how the meeting came about. He said that Edward Fortin, the long time Water Superintendent, retired in September. He had notified the department that he was retiring, but did not give them a date. He announced his last day without notice.
Carl Fleurent took over operations on an interim basis, while the board recruited for a new Water Superintendent. A subcommittee chose three finalists, but one dropped out, leaving Thomas Weir from Foxborough, and Jeff Furtado from Fairhaven. Mr. Fleurent was not a finalist.
Vinnie Furtado told the board and those assembled that they had 11 applicants after advertising in trade publications. They interviewed five, and chose their top three. One candidate from out of town dropped out, and that left Mr. Weir and Jeff Furtado.
“We had a very good candidate pool,” said Vinnie Furtado, adding that the subcommittee took its job very seriously. He said that he believed either candidate would be good for the job.
Mr. Hobson and Vice Chair Brian Wotton told the crowd that they did not think it was necessary to have public comment. Mr. Hobson said he felt that after all the time the board put into making the decision, they should just vote.
He then explained that the initial vote was 3-2 for Mr. Weir, the vote that took place erroneously in Executive Session. Then in open session it changed.
“We can only hire in open session,” said Vinnie Furtado.
Mr. Hobson said that he understood that, but felt that the re-vote should have taken place at a regular meeting, not a special meeting three days later. And the vote changed.
Then, Town Counsel advised them to hold yet a third vote.
Mr. Hobson said he felt either Jeff Furtado or the other candidate would both be a good choice for the job.
“I know I made up my mind,” he said, making it clear he would not change his vote, even if people spoke. “What I did, I thought was best for the town. If either person gets it, I’ll be happy.”
Mr. Wotton said the subcommittee did a lot of work to find the right candidate, and seemed to say that Vinnie Furtado made it clear he wanted Jeff for the job. Mr. Wotton said it was the first “handpicked” person that Vinnie got to choose and that he was trusted to run the department, and chose the most qualified person to run the water department.
Board member Keith Silvia said he agreed with Mr. Hobson.
“Let’s get this going,” he said.
Mr. Durant said it was simple: The board made a mistake on the meeting posting.
Mr. Ristuccia noted that there had been a lot of “back and forth” about the issue in the last few weeks.
“I take my job here very seriously,” said Mr. Ristuccia. “I do what’s best for the town first, not what’s best for me.”
He said he had to stand back and consider who it would be most comfortable for the board and Vinnie Furtado to work with.
“Because ultimately, it’s his responsibility,” said Mr. Ristuccia, although he also added that it does not mean he would simply vote how the PW superintendent wants.
Mr. Wotton made the motion to hire Jeff Furtado, Mr. Durant seconded the motion; and the vote was the same as the last time, 3-2 in favor of Jeff, with Mr. Hobson and Mr. Silvia not voting yes.
“I think the five of you should be ashamed of yourselves. You have the public here and you didn’t want to hear from the public because of what could possibly have been said,” said Selectboard member Daniel Freitas, who used to be a BPW member. “What you’ve done tonight is not let democracy work.”
He said there was a lot more to the story than what the board said in the meeting, and that people showed up because they wanted to speak, and the board “stifled” that.
“Whether they wanted to speak for or against, you stopped that,” said Mr. Freitas. “So I will say, ‘shame on you.’”
Mr. Wotton said there were two other meetings when people could have gone to weigh in.
“Not one, single person came forward,” said Mr. Wotton, reminding him that this was the third one.
Mr. Freitas countered that no one went to the other meetings because one was posted as executive session, and the second one did not say there would be a vote. And that is why they had to hold the third meeting.
“You guys have stifled this from the very beginning. You’re not holding this meeting because you want to. You’re holding this meeting because you have to,” said Mr. Freitas, adding that they violated open meeting laws more than once. “And tonight, you’ve done it again.”
While he was speaking, a woman interjected, asking Mr. Freitas if he wrote the letter, referring to an unsigned letter that was making the rounds behind the scenes disparaging Jeff Furtado’s character and saying he could not handle the stress of the job.
“I absolutely one-hundred-percent wrote that letter and I stand by it,” said Mr. Freitas.
He said he also had heard that Jeff Furtado left work early that day to see an attorney and threatened to sue anyone who spoke against him at the meeting. He asked the board if Jeff had left work early, but it is unclear if the board answered him.
“Absolutely that should never happen and you guys stifled that again,” said Mr. Freitas, and again said the board’s actions were “shameful.”
“I wrote the letter,” repeated Mr. Freitas, rose from his seat, and told Vinnie Furtado that he should release the letter to the public
As Mr. Freitas walked out the door, he said, “And you should get an attorney and I’ve got one, too,” although it was unclear if he was talking to the board members or to one of the Furtados.
Mr. Ristuccia then suggested that they let people speak.
Carl Fleurent, who has been acting Water Superintendent since Mr. Fortin left, but did not become a finalist, stood up and said, “Oh, after the vote.”
“You’re a bunch of crooked f—ing guys, you really are,” said Mr. Fleurent. “You want to talk to the people now after you voted. That’s the way to do it.”
Several people got up to leave and Mr. Fleurent called out, “Watch the water in Fairhaven,” then walked out the back way through the offices.
Mr. Ristuccia asked for a vote on the motion to adjourn.
“All those in favor,” he asked.
And Mr. Fleurent called out: “All those in favor of a crooked board?” as he walked out the door to the outside.
Mr. Fleurent still works in the Water Department.
The meeting adjourned, and the government access camera was turned off, but people still lingered and spoke to the board. Only Mr. Ristuccia and Vinnie Furtado responded. The other members, presumably aware that the meeting had adjourned, simply watched and listened.
Vinnie Furtado explained in response to a question, that although the town knew Mr. Fortin was going to retire in 2017, he did not give a date.
“The day he left, was the day I found out,” said Vinnie Furtado.
Outside, before the meeting began, Mr. Freitas refused to say if he had written the letter. He did not return a phone call or an email from the Neighb News asking if he had written it.
“And I’m not going to,” said Mr. Freitas outside the door on Arsene Street. When pressed, he said, “No comment.”
Then he turned to two or three men standing outside and said, “You guys heard that, right?”
The unsigned letter was sent on 12/20/17 as an email attachment to Vinnie Furtado, who never shared it with the board to discuss in a meeting because, he told the Neighb News, he knew they already had it. He refused to forward the email to the Neighb News, without approval of Town Counsel. •••
•••
Support local journalism, donate to the Neighb News at: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=Y6V5ARRYH689G
Click here to download the entire 2/1/18 issue: 02-01-18 Plunge
