Gray calls out Beaulieu: Is the pot calling the kettle black?

Milton Selectmen Tom Gray and Mike Beaulieu at the Fire Station ribbon cutting two weeks ago. (Lebanon Voice file photo)

Milton Selectmen Chair Tom Gray's sanctimonious attacks on fellow selectmen Mike Beaulieu and Andrew Rawson on Monday may have been uncomfortable for some to watch, especially in light of some of the shenanigans Gray has foisted on townspeople in the recent past.

It was only a few short months ago that Gray appeared to subvert town policy by instructing Beaulieu at a November selectmen's meeting to make a motion that opened the Emma Ramsey Center for private parties.

It appeared Gray wanted to use the hall for a private family event in December, saying at a selectmen's meeting afterward he had asked the town administrator to ask Beaulieu and Rawson if it would be OK for him to use the facility.

However, when asked on Dec. 19 if he knew there was a longtime policy already in place, Gray said he did. So if he did, why did he ask Beaulieu to motion for what he thought was a new policy instead of going and finding the old policy prior to trying to secure the Emma Ramsey for his party.

Confusing? What else would you expect from the master obfuscator?

Gray easily could have sought input from Rec Director Karen Brown, who arranges such rentals for the Town Beach and who at the Dec. 19 meeting told selectmen that former interim town administrator Joe Ryan had tried to update the policy, which apparently prohibited private parties at Town Offices due to valuable records housed there. Hmmmm!

The only things to be allowed were home school classes, Parks and Recreation events like at Christmas and special meetings of fire and police departments.

Well, if Gray had read that policy, he wouldn't have been able to have a birthday party there, would he?

The Lebanon Voice has uploaded pertinent portions of the Nov 28 and Dec. 19 selectmen's meetings. In the Nov. 28 meeting, Beaulieu reads the motion Gray gave him a few moments before, which as far as Beaulieu believes, enacts a new policy that states the public can use the Emma Ramsey center for free for private events, which Rawson and Beaulieu approve while Gray abstains. However, it's laughable that Gray would abstain since he initiated the motion.

Then after a major dustup ensued when the VFW was told their Toys for Tots Christmas party had to be postponed and it became evident there was a policy (somewhere), Beaulieu made a motion during the Dec. 19 meeting to rescind his motion that Gray had fed him to recite at the Nov. 28 meeting that cleared the way for Gray's private function.

But Gray's obfuscation reached new levels toward the end of the meeting as Beaulieu attempted to find out from the select chair why he was duped into making a motion to create a policy that was already on the books solely to benefit Gray's ability to secure the Emma Ramsey for his private function.

Here is a transcript of remarks between Beaulieu and Gray around the two hour 13-minute mark on Dec. 19 when Beaulieu tries in vain to ask Gray why he was told to make a motion for a policy already in place..

Beaulieu: Ok, if we had a policy, right, why did we need to make a motion to do that at that meeting then. I don't understand. If we had a policy, a building use policy in place why did we have to make a motion to have it open to the public (Gray tries to interrupt but fails.) I mean I don't understand the motion. That's why I rescinded it cause I found out later afterward we had a policy. I just don't understand why we had to make that motion that night. That's where I'm confused.

Gray: My question to the whole thing is I was going to... the day we had a BOS meeting and we were addressing budget issues. You all have to admit it was a long meeting. I think I got home after 10. I was gonna ask the board if I could use the building and totally slipped my mind so the next day or two I called Heather (Town Administrator Heather Thibodeau) and I says can you ask the other guys if they have a problem with me using the building and that's where it ended.

Beaulieu: No that's not how I received it. The way I recited that motion is the way I received that information. My wrong and I'm admitting as I didn't do any research on it to find out ... I didn't do anything on it until I found out there was a policy on that so again I don't understand why we had to make a motion to allow the downstairs to be used by the people of Milton with no fees. (Looks pointedly at Gray.) Did you know we had a policy on it?

Gray: I never filled it out, never used the policy.

Beaulieu: Did you know we had one?

Gray: I knew there was a policy. I had no idea what it said.

Beaulieu: So I guess that's where I'm confused.

In Beaulieu's first remark he asks Gray three times why he was asked to make the motion on facilities use; astonishingly Gray never answers. In fact he begins his answer with, "My question to the whole thing is ..."

When you ask someone a question and they begin their answer with, "Well, my question to the whole thing is," well you know you're in trouble.

At one point Gray summarizes, "Nothing was done outside of policy or inappropriate."

Mr. Gray, that's because you had it changed.

And if Mr. Beaulieu is confused, well he can take satisfaction in knowing most of the town is, too.

The portion referenced from the Nov. 28 meeting can be found here.

The portion referenced from the Dec. 19 meeting can be found here.