legalreviewspecial

Legal review public hearing: Panel hears debate about Weston's town counsel
Weston FORUM
by Patricia Gay
Apr 2, 2008

There was some support but also some criticism leveled at town counsel during a public hearing held by the Select Committee on Legal Review, Thursday, March 27. The committee is charged with analyzing the performance of the town’s law firm, Cohen and Wolf, which includes town counsel Ken Bernhard and assistant town counsel Patricia Sullivan. As part of its review process, the committee solicited public input.

Several weeks ago, it asked for written statements from Westonites. On Thursday, members of the public were given a chance to verbally express their concerns, offer support, or ask questions. The hearing was presided over by the seven-member committee and its chairman, Dennis Tracey. Each speaker was allowed to have the floor for 10 minutes to bring forward issues or make comments concerning town counsel.

Contract

Henry Roehr of September Lane, who has experience in the construction business, said he had concerns with the manner in which a town contract was written and administered. In particular, he had questions about the contract the town had with M.J. Losito Electrical Contractors of Bethel. Losito was the electrical contractor for the Weston Intermediate School construction project. When the project was completed, Losito filed a $783,032 lawsuit against the town, claiming it was owed additional money because of delays and work order changes.

At the outset, Tom Landry, town administrator, said the lawsuit was without merit based on a review by O&G Industries, the project’s construction manager. However, the town eventually settled the lawsuit with Losito for $125,000. Mr. Landry said that after again reviewing the claim, there appeared to be some merit so the town settled. Mr. Roehr’s complaint is that there was not an arbitration clause in the Losito contract, and had there been one, he believes Losito would not have been able to sue the town, and would have had to seek arbitration rather than drag the town through a battle in the courts.

Mr. Roehr asked why the town attorney did not include an arbitration clause, which he said is standard in construction contracts. He wondered if there was financial gain for the town attorney to go to court rather than arbitration.

Response

Richard Wolf of Homewood Lane offered his response to some of Mr. Roehr’s questions. Mr. Wolf explained he was the ex-chairman of the School Building Committee at the time the intermediate school
was built, and he remembered the Losito contract.

“It was five years ago, and I don’t remember all the exact details,” Mr. Wolf said.

Mr. Wolf said he does remember that the arbitration clause was stricken by a decision of the School Building Committee, not the town attorney.

“We decided to strike the arbitration clause for the prime contractors, but the clause stayed in the professional contracts. At least, that is my recollection,” Mr. Wolf said.

He said the School Building Committee made the decision it believed was in the best interest of the town.

“Cohen and Wolf doesn’t run the show. They give us the facts to make decisions. In the end, those were our decisions,” he said.

He also said it was the School Building Committee — not town counsel — that decided how to settle Losito.

“Cohen and Wolf has provided very responsible assistance,” Mr. Wolf said.

Conflicts

Jim Maggio of High Noon Road spoke at the hearing and said one of his chief issues was the appearance of conflicts of interest the town attorneys have had on some cases. He said he believes Mr. Bernhard had a conflict of interest regarding land use issues the town had with the development of Martin Road, because in 1993, Mr. Bernhard had legally represented the Martin family.

He also clamed there was once a conflict of interest in a land use matter involving Revson Field because the husband of Ms. Sullivan, assistant town counsel, once represented the Collins family, a neighbor of the Revson property.

In other concerns, Dr. Maggio claimed Morehouse Field was built without proper permits, sidestepping Planning and Zoning regulations.

He further criticized the latest problems with glass found in the topsoil at Revson Field and said the contract for the purchase of the topsoil should have been overseen by the town attorney. Mr. Tracey reminded Dr. Maggio that the committee had Dr. Maggio’s comments and concerns in writing, so he did not have to reiterate issues that were included in those documents.

In summation, Dr. Maggio said in his opinion, the town spent too much time with litigation and going to court.

When Dr. Maggio finished, Don Saltzman, chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission, said he wanted to refute some of Dr. Maggio’s assertions.

However, Mr. Tracey said the committee could meet with Mr. Saltzman at another time in executive session under the attorney client privilege waiver. This priviledge exists because town counsel also reprents the Planning and Zoning Commission in certain matters.

Effective

With a different take on the performance of town counsel, Bob Turner, the town’s Code Enforcement Officer, who recently announced his retirement, said his relationship with town attorneys Ken Bernhard and Pat Sullivan was “convenient and effective.”

He said he made good use of the weekly office hour sessions town counsel provided.

“We sometimes cover three, four, or five subjects at one time,” Mr. Turner said.

Mr. Turner said he also appreciated how town counsel didn’t give him “instructions,” but gave him “advice” instead.

He also said in two times that he had to appear in court for the town, the town attorneys gave him proper support. The committee asked Mr. Turner if he thought the town would be better served with a full-time attorney. Mr. Turner said he did not think it would be, because “there would not be enough work there” for one attorney. When all members of the public had a chance to comment, the hearing was brought to a close.

After the meeting, Mr. Tracey said the committee will now move on to reviewing individual cases and contracts.

The committee’s regularly scheduled meeting dates are April 10, April 24, May 8, May 22, June 5, and June 19. It may also hold special meetings as needed.

The selectmen have asked the committee to complete its review by June 30.

Weston's Legal Review Committee: Public hearing is set for March 27
by Patricia Gay
Mar 20, 2008

The Select Committee on Legal Review is holding a public hearing Thursday, March 27, in an attempt to obtain information and input from town residents.

The public hearing is being held to help the committee with its mission to offer an opinion on the quality of the town’s legal counsel, Cohen and Wolf. The committee is also charged with determining whether an alternate arrangement might be in the best interest of the town.

To that end, the committee is reviewing a number of the town’s legal cases. It is also interviewing town officials and commission members about the performance of town attorney Ken Bernhard and associate counsel Patricia Sullivan.

The committee would like to hear from the public, said its chairman, Dennis Tracey. He said he has received a number of written submissions so far from members of the public, which have been helpful to the committee in its review.

“To be sure that we have as much information as possible, we encourage any Weston resident who has information concerning the mission of the committee to attend the public hearing,” Mr. Tracey said.

He said statements from the public will be limited to 10 minutes in length.

At the committee’s meeting on Feb. 28, it continued its review of legal services and interviews with town board and commission members. For those interviews, the committee went into an executive session, not open to the public. Mr. Tracey said the information discussed in executive session is protected by the attorney-client privilege.

The public hearing will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Commission Room at town hall.

The committee’s regularly scheduled meeting dates are March 27, April 10, April 24, May 8, May 22, June 5, and June 19. It may also hold special meetings as needed.

The selectmen have asked the committee to complete its assignment by June 30. Mr. Tracey said the committee is on schedule so far.

There are seven members on the committee, including Lincoln Briggs, Elayne Robertson Demby, Steven Ezzes, David Fleming, Douglas Olin, Mr. Tracey and Keith Watanabe.