Redesigning Main Street/Crowell Road Intersection; My comments on

[Stephen Buckley]

The Town of Chatham has been paying a consulting company with a "Public Involvement Specialist" to, at the very least, advise the Town on the legal requirements for Public Involvement in the subject project.  http://www.chathamcrowellroad.info

Upon review of the video of the Board of Selectmen's meeting of August 15, 2017, it is clear that the Board members were not aware, nor informed by its consultant at that time, of the legal requirements for Public Involvement by the Town of Chatham as specified in the MassDOT's "Project Development and Design Guide".  In order to qualify for federal funding, MassDOT is supposed to ensure that "proponents" (e.g., towns like Chatham) follow that Guide.

I recommend that the Town of Chatham, before making additional decisions on this project, direct its consultant to openly inform its officials and citizens about the legal requirements for Public Involvement, especially and specifically with respect to every step of the Public Involvement process thus far and in the future.

best,

Stephen Buckley
Chatham, Mass.
http://twitter.com/openchatham
http://www.OpenGovMetrics.com


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