DUXBURY TOWN COUNSEL SEARCH COMMITTEE MINUTES JUNE 27, 2012

DATE: LOCATION: PRESENT: ABSENT: PREPARER: APPROVED:

JUNE 31, 2012 DUXBURY SENIOR CENTER, 10 MAYFLOWER STREET, DUXBURY, MA SUSAN CURTIS, MARTIN DESMERY, FRANK MANGIONE, ANDRE MARTECCHINI, KATHY MUNCY, PHILIP TORTORELLA, WILLIAM ZACHMANN NONE WILLIAM F. ZACHMANN JULY 17, 2012

FINAL MINUTES AS APPROVED:

The first meeting of the Duxbury Town Counsel Search Committee was called to order in the Ellison Room of the Duxbury Senior Center at 10 Mayflower Street, Duxbury, Massachusetts at 7:30 PM the evening of Wednesday, June 27, 2012 by Chairman Pro-Tem Martin Desmery. Duxbury Board of Selectmen (BOS) member and chairman Ted Flynn was present and addressed the Committee, thanking the members for their willingness to serve on it and saying that it was his intent and that of the Duxbury Board of Selectmen that the mandate of this Committee, although charged with the narrow objective eventually to bring forward to the BOS two or three specific alternatives from possible candidates for our new Town Counsel, was intentionally broad enough to include a fairly wide range of recommendations concerning the office of Duxbury Town Counsel. Mr. Flynn said that, in retrospect, he felt that after being elected to the BOS in 2010, he had initially been somewhat too ready to assume that the legal affairs of the Town of Duxbury were entirely in good order and perhaps insufficiently inclined to ask difficult questions of our then Town Counsel. He said he felt that Town management relied too much on Town Counsel and his recommendations. Mr. Flynn said that he was open to the consideration by and recommendations to the BOS by this Committee, of questions like should we consider a full-time employee for Town Counsel instead of simply retaining the services of a law firm; whether we should expect to have an all-in-one Town Counsel or hire specialists in specific areas of municipal law as the need might arise; and similar, wider questions. Mr. Flynn also said that, Its up to us to have . . . healthy skepticism regarding legal advice given to the Town of Duxbury and went on to say that he wanted . . . a Town Counsel to tell us No! when actions were contemplated that the Town of Duxbury ought not engage in. He said he wanted a Town Counsel who would give us honest advice. We dont need a fixer, Flynn said, but rather someone we can count on to make sure that everything that is done by and for Duxbury is legal and proper. Asked by Chairman Pro-Tem Martin Desmery about press accounts reporting that the BOS had expressed the view that temporary Duxbury Town Counsel Arthur Krieger and his firm of Anderson & Kreiger ought not to be considered for the role of permanent Town Counsel, Flynn confirmed

that it was his view and that of the majority of the BOS that it would be preferable to exclude Anderson & Krieger from consideration as permanent Duxbury Town Counsel to avoid any possible perception, by the public, that Duxbury is replacing its Town Counsel of 26 years, Attorney Robert Troy, with someone who was in any way involved in the proceedings, including executive sessions of the BOS, through which Mr. Troy was dismissed. Mr. Martecchini, however, said that Kreiger had not actually played any direct role in the dismissal of Troy and that he did not think there was any reason why if, hypothetically, the Committee were to decide that Anderson & Kreiger was the best qualified (or one of the two or three best qualified) candidate(s) for the position, they should necessarily be excluded from consideration. Some discussion ensued without any clear consensus or conclusion on the part of the Committee, as a whole, on that question. Mr. Flynn, after again thanking the members of the Committee, left at approximately 7:45 PM. The Committee then went on with individual introductions in the following order: Martin Desmery Kathy Muncey Frank Mangione Andre Martecchini William Zachmann Philip Tortorella Susan Curtis

After each member said a few words to introduce him or herself to the others, Martin Desmery was elected Chairman, Andre Martecchini Vice Chairman, and William Zachmann Clerk of the Committee. Mr. Zachmann noted, in accepting the nomination, that it would be his practice, for future meetings, to record each meeting of the Committee in full to assist in keeping accurate minutes. Mr. Tortorella sought assurance that these recordings would be part of the permanent record of the Committee, not simply private recordings in the possession or Mr. Zachmann. Mr. Zachmann assured him that they would be public records and that he would provide copies to anyone who wanted them including members of the Committee and would routinely provide (digital audio) copies to the Duxbury Town Clerks office. The Committee then proceeded to discuss a future meeting schedule, a target deadline for the completion of the evaluation of alternative and the development of recommendations to the BOS, and the process for identifying and evaluating candidates for the position. Mr. Zachmanns memorandum, previously sent by email as a document for discussion by the Committee, was distributed in print form by Chairman Desmery. Mr. Desmery also distributed a list of the names and contact information for members of the Committee and a copy of a recent request for proposals (RFP) by the Town of Marshfield for the services of a new town counsel. After some further informal discussion of various options and possible approaches, without any formal votes, a consensus of the Committee was reached as follows:

The next two meetings of the Committee will be scheduled at 7:30 PM at the Duxbury Senior Center on Tuesday, July 17, 2012 and Tuesday, July 31, 2012. The Committees goal is to evaluate options and be ready to recommend 2-3 top options for Duxbury Town Counsel to the Duxbury Board of Selectmen in the first half of November 2012. Our primary objectives for the next meeting of the Committee will be to determine how best to advertise the position, to invite potential candidates to identify themselves to the Committee, and to establish criteria for evaluation. Individual members of the Committee will investigate and identify resources that will be helpful to the Committee including and may distribute them via email as documents for discussion at our next meeting: o o o RFPs for Town Counsel services by other Massachusetts municipalities Information on how properly and lawfully to retain a Town Counsel; and Any other material that will facilitate the work of this Committee

The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 PM.