Canton packs the house

CANTON- With the municipal building at capacity, citizens were seen stretching out the door and huddled up to the windows trying to hear the goings on at the unsanctioned special town meeting last Thursday night. Citizens came from all over town and some from surrounding towns to find out what local, Chris Dailey, was up to.

Dailey, a member of the Alliance for Accountability, sent out a sample warrant over the past couple weeks looking to get as many people present as possible to agree to hire an attorney to investigate municipal issues he uncovered.

The group designated Ben McAllister as moderator and the meeting streamlined from there with McAllister informing citizens that the first item up for discussion was that of whether or not the town should hire an attorney to investigate the possible unauthorized expenditure from the capital improvement fund for the transfer station during the fiscal year 2011-2012.

This question was brought to the forefront when monies were taken from the capital improvement account to insulate and heat a town building. Selectmen are responsible for approving any expenditures under $5,000 and Dailey was questioning the amount of money used and why it wasn’t approved with a town meeting.

Selectman Don Hutchins received a round of applause when he stated, “It is the selectmen’s job to manage the town and specify where funds go. Where would we be if we hired an attorney to look into a matter that we can show you right here? I can tell you where, out of money.”

Deb Hutchins spoke up and noted, “This is a pure waste of time. You are wasting town time and money on your own personal agenda. It needs to stop here.” To which she received a round of applause.

The question was moved to vote and the majority of the crowd defeated the article.

The next item up for discussion was to see if the town would appropriate funds to hire an attorney to investigate the conduct of Fire Chief Shane Gallant during two separate incidents in 2010 and 2011.

Dailey alleges that Gallant was in violation of federal, state and town ordinances during a controlled burn in Hartford in November of 2010 and questioned Gallant’s qualifications for the job when he allegedly placed a citizen in his vehicle in November of 2011 with unsecured firearms.

In a prior interview, Gallant informed the media that he has a concealed weapons permit and the firearm was locked away. Also noting that there was a state trooper in the vehicle with the individual. 

The motion to vote was brought up immediately with an overwhelming majority of citizens defeating the article.

Resident George Jamison noted after the meeting, “This was just not necessary. I know Chris (Dailey) just wants accountability, I understand that. Everyone needs to be accountable, but I think he presented incorrectly and there’s really nothing he can do.”