Crowd Expected at Tomorrow’s Town Council Meeting
January 16, 2023
By Cynthia Drummond for BRVCA
RICHMOND -- Residents angry about the failure to reappoint Nancy Hess to the Planning Board will be joined Tuesday evening by residents demanding that Jessica Purcell fill the school committee seat vacated by Gary Liguori.
The regular Town Council meeting, at 6 p.m., will follow a joint workshop at 5 p.m. during which the council and members of the Planning Board will discuss proposed amendments to the zoning ordinance and zoning map for the aquifer protection overlay district and the planned development resort district.
School Committee
Jessica Purcell, who, last November, narrowly lost her bid for a seat on the Chariho School Committee, believed that because she had received the next highest number of votes, she would be next in line to fill the seat vacated by Gary Liguori, who is loving out of state.
Reached on Jan. 13, Purcell said she had been contacted on Jan. 5 by Town Clerk Erin Liese, who informed her that according to the town’s Home Rule Charter, she was next in line for the position and that she needed to formally accept or decline the appointment.
Purcell said she told Liese the next day that she would accept the appointment, but a few days later, she was informed that she would not automatically fill the seat.
Town Council President Mark Trimmer and councilor Helen Sheehan had requested a legal opinion from Town Solicitor Karen Ellsworth on whether the Chariho Act, which is state law, or the town’s Home Rule Charter, applied to choosing someone to appoint to a vacant school committee seat.
In a Jan. 10 memo, Ellsworth advised the council that state law supersedes the town charter.
“I believe that if a court were asked to decide this issue, the court would find that when the General Assembly ratified the Richmond Home Rule Charter in 2009, the General Assembly did not intend any provision in the charter to supersede the Chariho Act,” the memo states.
The Chariho Act requires that the person filling the vacant seat receive a majority vote of the Town Council. Ellsworth concludes that the council “is not required to appoint the unelected candidate who received the greatest number of votes for that office in the November 8, 2022 election.”
Purcell, who was planning to attend the council meeting, accept her appointment and be sworn in, will now watch as the council discussing the appointment.
Purcell said she emailed Trimmer and Sheehan, both of whom told her that they were following the rule of law.
“I just feel like Erin Liese told them what the agenda item was, and then they enlisted the help of the Town Solicitor to change the agenda item,” Purcell said. “That’s effectively what happened. She told me one thing, they did another thing, and it changed the whole presentation.”
Reached Monday, Liese said that contrary to Purcell’s assertion, she had not had any contact with members of the Town Council regarding the Purcell appointment.
“To this day, I have not had any correspondence with the council on this matter, and the reason why the agenda reflects the way it appears today is because of the legal opinion from Karen Ellsworth, and not influenced by any council member, nor was I aware of any inquiry,” she said.
Purcell’s supporters have submitted letters to the council. Among them is attorney Mark Reynolds, who also serves as Town Moderator.
In a Jan. 11 letter to council members, Reynolds wrote that both the Chariho Act and the town charter should apply.
“The Chariho Act simply states that a vacancy is filled by the Town Council,” he stated. “The Richmond Home Rule Charter dictates how the Town Council makes the appointment. The Home Rule Charter states that if ‘a school committee seat becomes vacant, the Town Council shall appoint the unelected candidate who received the greatest number of votes for that office in the most recent general or special election.’ So, although the Town Council makes the appointment, it must follow the Home Rule Charter when doing so. The unelected candidate who received the greatest number of votes in the November 2022 election was Jessica Purcell. Therefore, the Town Council must appoint her to fill the vacancy.”
There have been suggestions, as yet unconfirmed, that Justin Price, the Republican incumbent who failed in his bid for a fifth term as state Representative in District 39, is interested in filling the school committee seat.
Nancy Hess
Many residents are still fuming over the council’s decision at the Jan. 3 meeting not to reappoint Nancy Hess to the Planning Board.
Planning Board members, who have also expressed their anger at the council’s decision, voted at their Jan. 10 meeting to name Hess the board chair until her term expires on Jan. 31.
Agendas for the workshop and the Town Council meeting can be found on the town’s website.
To attend the January 17th 5pm meeting, use this link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89928498368
To attend the January 17th 6pm meeting, use this link: