Boothbay Select Board Chairman Chuck Cunningham explained the circumstances March 14 why a fellow selectman didn’t participate in a recent executive session. The board held one March 8 with a municipal attorney to discuss a possible settlement of two lawsuits Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens filed against the town.

Four selectmen were present March 8. The fifth, Kristina Ford, was out of town. Ford believed she would participate by phone as she did in a previous executive session regarding the CMBG court cases. But the circumstances of CMBG’s federal lawsuit versus Boothbay had changed since the last executive session. A federal judge had imposed a gag order prohibiting either party from commenting.

The selectmen were also going to review confidential documents Ford didn’t have. According to Cunningham, legal counsel cautioned selectmen against allowing remote participation in executive session due to confidentiality concerns. Prior to the meeting, Cunningham told Ford she could participate in the executive session by phone, but after Daggett’s admonition before the executive session, selectmen voted 3-1 against allowing the absent selectman to participate. Cunningham was the lone vote for allowing Ford’s participation.

During the March 14 selectmen’s meeting, Cunningham said he believed the board ultimately made the right choice.

“At the time, I didn’t think it would be an issue,” Cunningham said. “But after listening to the town attorney’s advice on the whole situation, I must admit it was the right decision.”

Cunningham expected Ford to attend the March 14  meeting, but he reported she was still in New Orleans because she couldn’t find a flight back in time.

In the nearly one year Ford has served as a selectman, she has clashed with other board members over board policies. Her most frequent concern is about public participation and providing residents with more information on municipal decisions.

On Feb. 22, Ford wrote a letter to the Boothbay Register encouraging residents to run for public office. In the letter, she mistakenly stated Boothbay didn’t advertise nomination papers’ availability.

On Feb. 28, the other selectmen responded with their own letter to the Boothbay Register in an effort “to correct the record,” according to Cunningham.

After the March 14 meeting, selectmen stated the decision to exclude Ford had nothing to do with personalities. “It would’ve been the same decision if it was Chuck (Cunningham) or Mike (Tomacelli). If you weren’t able to be there, then you couldn’t participate due to concerns over confidentiality,” said Selectman Steve Lewis.

But Ford’s exclusion caused concern from some residents. Paula Ragsdale posted a statement on the Boothbay Region Forum Facebook page. She wrote “FYI: Residents of Boothbay, 4 of your selectmen just held an executive session re: CMBG's law suit & court order, and deliberately blocked a fellow selectwoman from participating. This overt exclusion is a violation of our rights as citizens of our town, as we elected her to represent us. This action of theirs does not serve anyone well, and fosters continuing dysfunction.”

She also listed Selectman Dale Harmon’s cell phone number and urged residents to call him. She posted, “Please attend the next Boothbay select board meeting to listen to them defend their illegal action, and to ask questions, raise concerns.”

On March 14, Harmon reported he only received a couple of calls. “The first one was somebody asking, ‘Do you know your number is on Facebook,’” he said. The other three selectmen reported they received no calls.

During the March 14 selectmen’s meeting public forum, two citizens spoke about a current “dysfunctionality” within the community. Ragsdale spoke first, but she didn’t ask why Ford was blocked from the executive session.

Instead, she encouraged selectmen to focus on healthy town management and behaviors that are “inclusive, proactive, and positive.” “Residents are ill-served by excessive displays of animosity of discourse between selectmen. You should rise above real or perceived slights in differences of opinions with a value of a common goal for reaching what is in the best interest of the community,” she said.

East Boothbay resident Julie Roberts discussed challenges in the community such as rapidly diminishing school enrollment. She encouraged everybody to stop focusing on personalities, and focus on working for the common good.

“We all need to be respectful,” she said. “I personally feel frustrated people shut off others because they don’t like them. We’ve been presented with some great possibilities recently, but we don’t take advantage because we hate certain things or certain people.”

Once Ford returns, Cunningham will update her about the executive session.