Fri, 05/24/2024 - 2:00pm

SUSAN JOHNS

File photo

Alna First Selectman Nick Johnston on May 23 stood by his May 9 rebuke of resident Jeff Spinney’s verbal “attack” on Third Selectman Coreysha Stone, but not the rebuke’s “delivery.” It was unprofessional, Johnston said.

At the start of public comment May 23, Johnston hoped for a fresh start for the meetings, to be more neighborly. He said people wanting to speak will be called on, there will not be multiple conversations at once, and personal attacks will not be tolerated.

May 9, in talks about the committee that has resulted from a proposed mining ordinance’s rejection at town meeting, Spinney called Stone stupid. And Johnston told Spinney he was not going to let him “attack” his fellow board member, and “if you can’t keep it civil then you shut your cake hole.”

Johnston apologized May 23 for what he described as that earlier meeting’s unraveling into chaos with people talking at once. “This was a failure on my part and I take full responsibility for that as first selectman.”

Also noting the May 9 meeting, Stone told fellow residents her having been called stupid shows not everyone has a filter. The “good news” is, a person can work on that, Stone said. She said she does not agree that she is stupid, but if she was, that would be a condition she could do nothing about. A constructive comment should refer to a person’s behavior, “not (to) a human being, not the whole person,” she said.

Former selectman Charles Culbertson asked if Spinney was willing to make a public apology. Second Selectman Steve Graham cautioned against a “back and forth” about it.

“Jeff, it’s in your court,” Culbertson said. Spinney then criticized Culbertson’s performance as a selectman and asked if Culbertson was going to apologize for that.

May 9, selectmen appointed both to the mining committee – Spinney, as an owner of a pit; Culbertson, as an at large member.

Another resident in the May 23 meeting cited a nearby wall’s message that encourages thinking before speaking.

The board went on to unanimously name Christopher Cooper the committee’s facilitator. Planning Board Chair Cathy Johnson told selectmen she and Erik Mitchell will be the two planning board members on the committee. And in other business, the selectboard OK’d tapping the historic buildings maintenance account, to help fund work on the meetinghouse. Ed Pentaleri, treasurer of Fund to Support Historic Alna, said the planned work could leave about $1,400 in the historic buildings maintenance account.