HATFIELD — Narrow decisions at the recent annual Town Meeting in support of easements to extend water and sewer lines on Route 5, and allow a sewage pumping station to be installed next to a restaurant, don’t mean that the project can proceed, according to an attorney representing a West Street property owner.
John McLaughlin, an attorney with Greens, Miles, Lipton LLP, said Thursday that he is considering avenues for challenging the vote at the May 11 session, where a petition to alter the project’s layout, brought by his client Susan Berry of Old Stage Road, who owns the properties at 34-36 West St., failed by one vote, 73-72.
“We haven’t decided how to proceed yet,” McLaughlin said, observing that a Hampshire Superior Court lawsuit he filed against the November Town Meeting vote, challenging the town that it didn’t have a quorum to conduct business, remains active.
The $3.6 million water and sewer infrastructure improvement project along the state highway is supported by a MassWorks grant and would extend sewer service on Route 5 from Linseed to Rocks roads, and water service for 2,200 feet along Route 5 south of Rocks Road.
McLaughlin said he might amend the lawsuit to capture what he said were flaws at the recent Town Meeting, held at the Lions Club pavilion, including various voting security issues that prevented all votes from being counted accurately, including people being spread out on the property and not all voters being able to be seated.
Even if the tally was correct, he said his client only lost the petition article because elected and appointed officials participated.
“It should be clear to the Select Board and anyone who could count that the majority of people, other than town government officials themselves, did not want this,” McLaughlin said.
Many spoke in favor of an alternative plan that would be less expensive and less intrusive on wetlands and would have reduced impact on the Waxwing Cafe. Voters eventually passed a final amended article that continues to have a permanent easement of 1,100 square feet at 34 West St. and a temporary construction easement of 250 square feet at the same site but suggests the pumping station be moved as far south on the property as possible, and be narrow and with no fence around it and more screening.
“Real citizens clearly voted that a raw sewage pumping station should not be in front of a restaurant,” McLaughlin said.
Video from Hatfield Community TV shows that moderator Joseph Lavallee, on Berry’s petition article, undertook a hand count after the voice vote was unable to determine a majority. Even as he announced that the petition failed by one vote, he indicated there would be no recount, referencing Florida and the presidential election in 2000, stating, “We’re not going to start counting chads.”
But Lavallee faced criticism for not allowing for other means of counting, such as a paper tally of votes.
Alison Childs of Old Stage Road said this didn’t seem a fair process “When it comes down to one vote, you do a recount,” Childs said.
Shawn Robinson of Linseed Road said he was bothered by what he saw. “With all due respect, what played out on that vote on the amendment, that was offensive, it was outrageous, really,” Robinson said.
Berry said people who supported her position went home before the final vote and accused officials of rigging the process against her. “This is a game you people play all the time,” Berry said.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
