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Public Trust and Transparency

At a glance

  • What: heated public comment and criticism of the short-notice June special meeting. The mayor has held monthly "Town Hall" outreach meetings (Sept 15 and Oct 13).
  • Video: 2026-10-13 - Mayor's Town Hall Meeting.

June 22 special meeting

  • Notice: the council voted on Resolution 912 at a special meeting called on short notice (the mayor said he had been told of the project in a late-night call and had held seven public meetings by then, two of them at the public library).
  • Challenge: an audience member told the mayor the council should be "demanding transparency" of the developer; the mayor replied that he was as transparent as he could be and had invited emails. He said the developer cannot name future tenants.
  • Decorum: audience members clapped, cheered and spoke out; the mayor said raised hands do not give a comment period (not public comment) and threatened to clear the room. He later said the council represents all 3,500 residents "not just a few that want to be loud" and that most people at the planning board meeting did not live in town. An audience member said residents would vote against him.
  • Related: Project Iron Spur Data Center.

October 12 public comment

  • Eve Vernon said residents get no acknowledgement or follow-up from the council, said a street light problem raised on April 13 and September 15 was never fixed, and raised concerns about anonymous social media accounts. She said she once received a citation after criticizing the council and thanked Mark Lane for improved conduct.
  • Randy Adams criticized the mayor's data center assurances; the mayor disputed his account and warned he would have him removed. See Project Iron Spur Data Center.
  • a resident asked whether the new fire station contract was pre-audited and whether the auditor knew, after a records request for the old station's demolition contract produced a different contract.
  • Homer Dearmin described the town's FAQ series and financial policy updates as transparency efforts.

Official minutes

  • July 13, 2026: sixteen residents spoke in public comment. A councilman said there were interruptions from the public during his remarks.
  • August 10, 2026: a resident addressed the council about comments in the manager's staff report. Near the end of the meeting Mayor Bennett asked Dearmin to address the part of his report concerning statements attributed to the resident about demolition of the former fire station property; Dearmin gave context and said accurately representing interactions with Town officials is important.
  • September 14, 2026: the resident and Robin Smith spoke in public comment; the mayor then said personal or defamatory comments would not be permitted at future meetings.

Discussion time

About 16 minutes across 2 meetings (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Meeting Minutes
2026-10-12 - Town Council 11
2026-06-22 - Special Town Council Meeting 5

Log

  • 2026-10-12 - Town Council - Three speakers press on transparency: lack of follow-up on resident requests, concerns about anonymous social media accounts, a contract-audit question, and a confrontation with the mayor over a phone call.
  • 2026-09-14 - Town Council - Minutes: public comment by the resident and one other resident; mayor said personal or defamatory comments would not be permitted at future meetings.
  • 2026-08-10 - Town Council - Minutes: the resident spoke on the staff report; the manager addressed statements attributed to her at the mayor's request.
  • 2026-07-13 - Town Council - Minutes: sixteen public commenters.
  • 2026-06-22 - Special Town Council Meeting - Audience challenges the mayor on transparency; no public comment period; mayor threatens to clear the room; the council votes 3-1 on Resolution 912.
  • 2026-10-21 - Page created from public town materials and news coverage (retrieved 2026-10-21); no meeting transcript processed yet.
  • 2026-09-14 - Town Council - Manager reported the State Auditor progress report was submitted August 7 with all 2023 recommendations addressed; a resident made allegations about a former manager in public comment (from auto-captions).
  • 2026-08-10 - Town Council - A public commenter criticized the town manager over old fire station awnings; at the mayor's request Homer Dearmin read a written response stating the awnings were removed under the demolition contract and no formal offer to buy them was received, and said he would share more on the town's improvements in September (from auto-captions).
  • 2026-07-13 - Town Council - Speakers said Resolution 912 was not released before the June 22 meeting and complained of slow or incomplete public records responses; one asked what new information led to the resolution. Council members said they had been responsive and urged civility (from auto-captions).

Sources