Law Committee Present: Kenneth F. Troup
August 24, 2009 Stanley Wysocki
Curtis Plante
Mark Slade
Don Lowe, Town Administrator
Linda L. Day, Town Secretary
The Law Committee met at the Town Hall at 4:00 p.m.
TOWN COUNSEL SERVICES
The town went out to bid for legal services approximately 6 or 7 years ago. The Committee agreed to go out to bid with one RFP for both legal and labor counsel with the option to split the services among two firms if the town determined that better service would come from separate firms. Ms. Day will forward a copy of the previous RFP to the Committee for review and comment. The Law Committee would also like to review the counsel contract. Mr. Lowe will draft the RFP for distribution in January of 2010 so that it will fit into the FY11 budget process and be effective starting July 1, 2010. The Committee did express their dissatisfaction with the communication from Brackett and Lucas related to the Class II Licenses and the lack of attention to our needs surrounding the Annual Town
Meeting. It was noted that the response has been considerable better since these two incidents and we were not charged for services of counsel at the annual town meeting.
APPOINTMENTS
On a motion made by Slade and seconded by Wysocki, the Law Committee voted to appoint Brackett and Lucas as Town Counsel, term expiration June 30, 2010. (Troup – yes, Wysocki – yes, Plante – yes, Slade – yes)
On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Slade, the Law Committee voted to appoint Mirick O’Connell as Labor Counsel, term expiration June 30, 2010. (Troup – yes, Wysocki – yes, Plante – yes, Slade – yes)
ROLE OF THE LAW COMMITTEE
It was brought to the Board of Selectmen’s attention that the Law Committee should be included in more discussions than in the past. Both Mr. Slade and Ms. Rogers will receive any legal related issues so that they can understand the situation before any litigation occurs. They will also be forwarded any zoning bylaw revisions for their review and comment. The Law Committee will meet annually as a minimum and will participate in the budget process for legal expenses. They will also submit an annual report.
Meeting adjourned at 5:15 p.m.
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