Fracasso revisits accusations against Closson

WINSTED — For the third time in a row, Selectman Ken Fracasso accused fellow Selectman George Closson of conflict of interest this week, during the Board of Selectmen’s regular meeting Monday, April 18.At a meeting in late March, Fracasso made accusations of a conflict of interest because, he said, Closson allegedly made comments about applications received by the Planning and Zoning Commission.Closson currently serves as the selectmen’s liaison to the committee and regularly attends commission meetings. Before being elected selectman, he served as chairman of the commission.At Monday’s meeting, Closson started the discussion by reading a statement addressing accusations made by Fracasso at previous meetings.“During the last [selectmen’s] meeting there was a public assertion that I have gone far beyond my role of liaison by commenting on applications,” Closson said. “I reviewed all the minutes of last year’s [Planning and Zoning] meetings and this year’s meetings, and there has never been that situation. I did participate in public hearings pertaining to a couple of applications, but I have never advocated for or against any applications. We have a void [on the committee] because we don’t have a town planner. I don’t know if this is being directed at me because it’s an election year, but I think we need to bypass this type of thing.”In response, Fracasso continued with his accusations against Closson.“This is not a political issue. I brought it forth in order to prevent the town from being sued,” Fracasso said. “Not only did he violate his charges as a liaison, he involved himself in discussions in two applications just recently.”Fracasso continued with his accusations for several minutes, claiming Closson participated improperly in discussions related to decisions by the Planning and Zoning commission.“I just think [Closson] is far out of bounds,” Fracasso said.“The meeting minutes do not reflect who calls on others and asks questions about issues,” Closson said.Despite saying she did not want to drag out the issue any further, Selectmen Karen Beadle criticized Closson.“It’s dangerously close to nepotism on that board,” Beadle said. “You have a long history on the board, and your wife [Susan Closson] sits on the board. In some of the meeting minutes I have read, you were in [the discussions] more than she was. This has nothing to do with it being an election year. I find that statement to be absurd. The whole idea is about transparency. We brought this up because this is anything but that.”“I’m glad to see we did all this work in tracking each other down in what each other is doing,” Mayor Candy Perez said in a rather sarcastic tone. “Perhaps we should do this with everybody if we are going to go down this road.”Perez may have been hinting at the fact that Beadle’s husband, Joseph Beadle, currently is the chairman and acting secretary for the School Building Committee, which is just one of many family relationships in town government.Fracasso and Perez then argued over who put the original agenda item up for discussion at the previous selectmen’s meeting.“Ken, I told you to put this on the agenda if you wanted to put it on the agenda,” Perez said. “I didn’t know how much further you wanted this back and forth and back and forth to go. As a selectman, it was your decision to do that.”Fracasso disagreed. “You were the one who held your hands up [at a previous meeting] like a traffic cop and said, ‘Stop! Stop! Stop!’ If we are going to talk about the Planning and Zoning commission, I will contact [chairman] Bruce Hillman,’” he said. “Don’t tell me I was the one who put it on the agenda!”“Why do you keep yelling, raising your voice?” Perez said.“I am not raising my voice!” Fracasso said.“Yes, you are!” Perez told Fracasso. “Can we stop now or do we have to keep going?”Fracasso ended the heated discussion by saying that both Perez and Closson put the discussion concerning the liaison for the Planning and Zoning Commission on the current meeting’s agenda.“If we’re done with it, we’re done with it,” Fracasso said.