Report by Paula Antolini, July 24, 2020, 9:30AM EDT
Bethel Board of Selectman meeting, July 21,2020. (Youtube video image from
Town of Bethel “Clifford J. Hurgin Municipal Center” channel).
There are numerous issues to report upon regarding the July 21, 2020 Bethel Board of Selectman (BOS) meeting, so we will separate it by topic into several articles, because the questionable actions by Bethel Boards Commissions, and Committee members also connected, are vast.
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This article is reporting on RULES AND REGULATIONS regarding the questionable manner in which First Selectman Matthew Knickerbocker conducted the July 21, 2020 Board of Selectman (BOS) meeting, along with Selectman Rich Straiton and Selectman Paul Szatkowski in agreement, appearing to NOT follow Robert’s Rules of Order, a manual of parliamentary procedure that governs most organizations with boards of directors.
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It also concerns issues regarding correspondence, the agenda, and meeting minutes, information that was NOT properly presented to the residents of Bethel, or recorded by secretary Dionne Craig.
We will discuss one topic, a letter, in this article, then other issues from the meeting in upcoming articles.
— 1) First Selectman Knickerbocker failed to read a letter from the “Bethel CT Pride” group, in the earlier “Correspondence” section of the July 21st BOS meeting, as required by Robert’s Rules of Order.
— 2) The Town of Bethel did not list the topic in the July 21st meeting agenda within 24 hours ahead, or at all, to notify residents.
— 3) NO mention of the letter from the Bethel CT Pride group was made until the last two minutes of the one-hour online meeting, without motion to do so.
— 4) The flag raising was approved by the board in a method NOT in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order.
— 5) The letter, shown below, addressed to all three members of the BOS, from the “Bethel CT Pride” group, with individuals names under the group name, and cc’d to CT State Representative Raghib Allie-Brennan, is NOT mentioned in the subsequent meeting minutes either.
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— 6) The letter, sent to the BOS from the “Bethel CT Pride” group, is NOT recorded by secretary Dionne Craig, and a copy of the letter is NOT attached to the meeting minutes.
— 7) Last two agenda items were ignored, agenda never updated.
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View agenda below:
So basically, if citizens did not attend the online meeting or view the online video days later, they would have no way of knowing what has transpired or the questionable method in which the BOS handled this matter, or that the BOS approved a flag raising at the CJH Municipal Center, scheduled for August 1st, by a private “group” named Bethel CT Pride, until you saw the flag flying on the pole.
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It certainly does not give Bethel residents an opportunity to know about the topic ahead of time, address the topic, ask questions, get further information, give public input, or write letters or emails of their own about it, to the BOS.
Is his how a Board of Selectmen is supposed to conduct Town of Bethel matters?
This is not particularly about what group this concerns, but the methods by which the BOS did NOT notify the public of this topic ahead of time or at all, to give them a chance to comment upon it, and observe discussion about it by the BOS.
This is blatant disregard of meeting protocol by the Board of Selectmen and an unscrupulous method to get a controversial topic approved. This letter was shown AFTER pubic comment, and NOT on the agenda, so NO input from the public was possible at all. What kind of trickery is this?
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Knickerbocker also ignored the last two items on the agenda, did not even mentioning them (view details below) and apparently the agenda was never updated. At the time of the publication of this article, the July 21st agenda still has the other two items included Knickerbocker never mentioned the last two items being deleted, at the meeting, at all, and neither do the meeting minutes recorded by Secretary Dionne Craig.
In fact, the three individuals who spoke during public comment, have only their names recorded, which apparently is the choice of the BOS, to only list names, even though residents spoke about VERY important issues regarding a large quantity of money, up to as much as $1.9 million. Does the BOS believe the citizens of Bethel do not need to be informed about such matters?
This is unacceptable, especially when recording secretary Dionne Craig acknowledges recording what people have said, then does not add a summary of their comment to the meeting minutes, after she said, “I got it,” when she is asked to confirm what they said.
How long is this problem going to go on in Bethel? I think I have written about this topic numerous times. Repeated blatant ignoring of rules of procedure by the Board of Selectman,and now by the recording secretary too.
Basically at the July 21st BOS meeting, Knickerbocker revealed the Bethel CT Pride letter, without a motion to do so at the meeting, when it was NOT read in the “correspondence”section of the meeting, but in the last TWO minutes of the meeting, as we said, during the meeting held via Zoom App. beginning at 7:00 p.m. on July 21st
THE VIDEO
At mark 58:40, in a video of the July 21st BOS meeting, that ends at 1:00:48 (approximately a 1-hour meeting), shown in the video link HERE and below, First Selectman Matthew Knickerbocker stated “and the last item on the agenda is “request to display the Pride flag.” He stated that he “forwarded a letter” that he received on July 7th (plenty of time to add item to agenda). This letter which ONLY appeared on the screen with the list of names of who signed it, half cut off at the bottom. This letter was NOT included in the subsequent minutes of the meeting posted, and in fact, the letter was not mentioned at all in the minutes.
Minutes (only) read as follows (in last two minutes of meeting):
“Consideration of Pride flag:
First Selectman Knickerbocker made a motion, which was seconded’ by Selectman Straiton to grant the request of raising the Pride flag on the Municipal Lawn for the day of August 1, 2020. Vote, all in favor, motion approved unanimously.”
The Bethel CT Pride letter, dated July 7, 2020, and cc’d to CT State Representative Raghib Allie-Brennan reads as follows:
“Dear First Selectman Knickerbocker, Selectman Straiton, an Selectman Szatkowski,
“Since 2017, Bethel CT Pride has brought the LGBTQ+ community and its allies together in a celebration of equality in Bethel, Conn. We strive to foster an inclusive and supportive set of programming and safe spaces for gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, gender queer, non-binary, ace, intersex, allies, and questioning individuals to celebrate their authentic selves.
“Our online community is over 1,000 large, mirroring the attendance at last year’s annual celebration and parade. Citizens of Bethel, as well as citizens from surrounding localities, have proven that they stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community.
“Despite this support, the LGBTQ+ community still faces an upward battle for equality. On a local level, this was recently displayed in the theft of a Bethel resident’s pride flag from his home. on a state level, trans athletes in Connecticut have become a target for discrimination. And nationally, the removal of health protections for trans and non-conforming individuals has dealt the community another blow.
“As a symbol of Bethel’s dedication to championing equality for all people, regardless of who they love or how they identify, we request that the Pride flag be raised on August 1, 2020, the date of our virtual pride celebration. We feel this would be a meaningful symbol to the LGBTQ+ community, and highlight Bethel as a welcoming and accepting town for all.
“We thank you for your consideration.
“Sincerely,
“Bethel CT Pride Core Members
*“Emily Denaro, Honorah O’Neill, Steve Colon, Wendy Cahill, (*rest of letter names on letter were cut off of screen).
The letter claims to be “over 1,000 large” in their “online community” but how many are Bethel residents? It also generalizes that “citizens of Bethel … stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community” but how many Bethel citizens? And whom? And how is this “proven“?
They also mention that, in Bethel, they have an “upward battle for equality” based on ONE pride flag being stolen.
They also insinuate that if Bethel officials do not approve the flag raising then they are not a, “welcoming and accepting town for all” or that they do not have, “dedication to championing equality for all people, regardless of who they love or how they identify.”
This is NOT about sexual identity, it is about rules and regulations for all.
In this case, rules appeared to have NOT been followed by the BOS. Obvious unscrupulous actions were used by the BOS to make an exception in this case, by appearing to ignore all meeting protocol and presenting this letter in the last two minutes of the meeting with no notice to the public beforehand, or allowing the public to comment upon the topic.
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Below is the only image of the Bethel CT Pride letter, shown at the Juy 21, 2020 online meeting for the first and only time, that the Bethel Advocate obtained from the Zoom meeting computer screen, and the only document in which any of the Bethel CT Pride group individual names are shown:
That’s it, if you blinked, you missed it.
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AGENDA ITEMS IGNORED
This presentation of the letter by Knickerbocker at the July 21st BOS meeting was after discussing item number 9, “Consideration of Deer Hunting application,” but completely ignoring the last two items on the agenda of number 10and 11 (and items are still showing on the Town of Bethel online record of the July 21st meeting agenda HERE and shown in image above of the agenda). This was to be a discussion of item number 10 “Consideration of generator installation at Briar Cliff Pump Station” and item number 11 “Consideration of generator installation at Eureka Water Treatment Plant,” and agenda which was apparently never updated and now ignored?
Instead, Knickerbocker suddenly produces a letter from the “Bethel CT Pride” group, that was NOT read in the “Correspondence” section of the meeting, as Robert’s Rules of Order requires, and there was NO special motion to read it either.
Upon producing the letter, Knickerbocker stated, “This is the group that for the last four years has put together the Annual Pride Parade in Bethel. There is no Pride Parade due to the pandemic, and instead there is a National Pride Day which will be August 1st, 2020, and it’s a one-day celebration and the group, the steering committee for the Pride Parade has asked permission to raise the Pride flag at Town Hall on that day, for one day. So I’m going to put a motion on the floor that we approve the request for displaying the flag on August 1, 2020.”
Selectman Straiton seconded the motion, and the only discussion afterwards was that Selectman Szatkowski asked “That’s just in front of Town Hall?” Knickerbocker replied, “Yup.”
Selectman Straiton said, “We do it for the other organizations in town?” Knickerbocker replied, “Yup.” The vote was then taken an it was approved unanimously.
What constitutes an “organization” able to have a flag raised in Bethel? (View info. about Bethel CT Pride group below.) What are the rules and regulations regarding flag raising on public property?
VIEW JULY 21st BOS MEETING HERE (it begins at the last two minutes when the letter is revealed, but you can scroll back to view entire meeting):
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Raghib Allie0Brennan (right) holding banner.
(File photo ©2017 BETHEL ADVOCATE / Paula Antolini)
WHO IS THE BETHEL CT PRIDE group?
According to the website of the he Bethel CT Pride group, the group was formed when Alexis Main’s 12-year-old daughter and Bethel student Hailey, decided to do a school project “close to her heart, LGBTQ+ rights” pertaining to a school assignment: “write about an issue that impacts society.”
“With friends, Hailey organized the first LGBTQ+ parade and celebration of its kind in the greater Danbury, CT area. And Bethel CT Pride was born!” reads their website.
So no legal official organization was made.
Neither the BethelCt Pride Facebook page or the Bethel Ct Pride website lists and names of individuals operating the “organization” or online pages. It just offers an email address of info@bethelpride.com.
According to the Council of Non-Profits, “Using a fiscal sponsorship arrangement offers a way for a cause to attract donors even when it is not yet recognized as tax-exempt under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3). In essence the fiscal sponsor serves as the administrative “home” of the cause. Charitable contributions are given to the fiscal sponsor, which then grants them to support the cause. Learn about fiscal sponsorship in this short video (NEO Law Group).”
If the Bethel CT Pride group is “is not yet recognized as tax-exempt under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3)” how are they recognized as a legitimate group, able to be approved to raise a flag on the Town of Bethel CJH Municipal Center lawn?
We asked Knickerbocker, what are the rules and regulations regarding raising a flag? Knickerbocker refused to answer our questions weeks earlier. (Read more below.)
Does this mean that anyone forming any group, legal or not, can demand, and be approved for, raising their flag in front of Bethel Town Hall, by the Bethel Board of Selectmen without knowledge to citizens beforehand? Did the Board of Selectmen even discuss this aspect at length, at the meeting? NO they did NOT.
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KNICKERBOCKER REFUSES TO DISCUSS TOPICS WEEKS BEFOREHAND:
Three particular topics being in the news and on social media lately, which were, the Black Lives Matter flag flown at the capitol in Hartford, the Christopher Columbus statue being removed in New Haven CT, and the Black Lives Matter graphics being painted on street surfaces in various locations including NY city. So, due to these recent events, BethelAdvocate decided to ask First Selectman Knickerbocker about RULES AND REGULATIONS regarding these topics.
On Thursday, June 25, 2020 at 6:51 p.m. twenty-six days before the July 21st BOS meeting we contacted First Selectman Knickerbocker via email, specifically asking him to provide us with Bethel rules and regulations on three subjects:
1) the process by which any group applies to the Town of Bethel to fly a flag on public property
2) the process by which any group applies to the Town of Bethel to paint a street surface (on public property) with graphics or wording
3) the process by which any group applies to the Town of Bethel to erect or remove a statue or monument on public property
Our intent was to question First Selectman Knickerbocker about BETHEL REGULATIONS on these three topics BEFORE anything similar happened in Bethel.
However, on Thursday, June 25, 2020 at 9:39 p.m. First Selectman Knickerbocker answered in one sentence: “You have asked 18 separate, speculative “what if” questions about things that might or might not happen. I do not care to comment at this time,“ he said.
On Thursday, Jun 25, 2020 at 11:33 p.m. Bethel Advocate wrote back saying, “Asking about regulations and application processes is not speculative.” and we also reviewed what we had asked him and asked if he was refusing to answer.
On Friday, Jun 26, 2020 at 8:32 am Knickerbocker replied, “No, thank you, I do not care to comment on those topics at this time.”
Then suddenly on July 21st the BOS approves a flag raising just like that? No application, no regulations, and appearing to not follow Roberts Rules of Order to inform the public ahead of time. Done deal.
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LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD:
To ask questions about this or any other topic, or have your letter included in the next BOS meeting record (ask to do so) of Aug. 4th, email the First Selectman Mathew Knickerbocker‘s office here:
EMAIL: firstselectman@bethel-ct.gov
There conveniently seems to be NO other BOS meeting before the date of the flag raising. Remember, this is NOT about a particular topic, but instead, about rules and regulations in running public meetings, and public input on topics of concern.
Check back soon for the Bethel Advocate’s next articles detailing blatant disregard for rules and regulations by Bethel boards, commissions and committees.
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