Reporter’s Notebook: The woman with all the questions gets a chance to speak

Teri Turgeon had questions. A lot of them, as always.

The Select Board decided last week to deal with questions from the public during Zoom meetings by having them use the “raise hand” feature, after which, the person may be brought onscreen during the meeting to discuss the matter. Tuesday was the first meeting to be put to the test.

Turgeon, a former School Committee member who regularly fills the Q&A sections of both the Select Board and School Committee during Zoom meetings, naturally was the first to test the new process. She popped up onscreen to ask questions about the Board of Library Trustees’ plans to eliminate overdue fees and other library fines early in the meeting, without issue.

The problem came several topics after when Select Board Chair Peter Carlson didn’t realize Turgeon had hit “raise hand” repeatedly.

“My hand has been up for the last four or five topics,” she grumbled.

“I’m a member of the public and I have questions… I haven’t been recognized.”

While Carlson apologized, Select Board member Colleen Roy said she had researched the topic after the last meeting. Open Meeting Law, she explained, does not require that a board recognize members of the public at all during a meeting unless it’s during a public comment period — whether meeting virtually or in public.

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Senior Housing at 25 Worcester St. took another step closer to reality after the Select Board voted to sign the deed transferring the empty lot to the Affordable Housing Trust.

This dates back to June’s Town Meeting, when Select Board member Ed Prisby sponsored a citizen’s petition to have the town hand over the land to the trust, which could then work with a developer to build senior housing there.

The 2.3 acres, within walking distance of Grafton Common, have been vacant since 1980 when the Norcross Annex was torn down. It was pitched as a fire station site and a home for the Super Park. It’s now used, unofficially, for neighborhood parking.

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Oops. 

It took Carlson about an hour and 40 minutes into the Select Board meeting to realize he forgot to introduce and welcome the newest regular to the Zoom grid: Carter Terenzini, who began work as interim town administrator last week. 

Carlson acknowledged that he had written himself a note to do so “but if you could see the state of my desk, you’d realize why I didn’t see it.”

Terenzini thanked the board for his appointment and said he’s been meeting department heads and going over appointments and contracts as well as starting on the preparations for October Town Meeting.

“It’s quite a busy season — you’ve got a good team,” he said.

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