Dear Supporters,
On 9/3/24, the Glyphosate Spraying Moratorium Petitioners sent the petition to the Shutesbury Select Board. At that time, the petition had 167 signatures, including 97 Shutesbury residents! We asked to have the petition placed on an upcoming Select Board agenda so that the Petitioners could present our concerns formally to the Select Board. As of today, the Town has not responded to the agenda item request, and it has not been added to the upcoming Select Board meeting on 9/10/24. Given that the Select Board has afforded multiple meeting opportunities to the proponents in favor of foliar knotweed spraying, we believe there should be an opportunity for a broader, more diverse sharing of information and opinions, perhaps with presentations from experts with greater knowledge of non-glyphosate control approaches for knotweed.
Through a Public Records Request, we learned that the Town seemingly plans to move forward with the foliar spraying plan and has strong support from the Highway Department, the Community Preservation Act Committee Chair, and other project proponents. While the Plan is described as a draft, the email communications clarify that it is almost a fait accompli.
There is even discussion about submitting a grant application to the Town's Community Preservation Act Committee to obtain funding for this ill-advised project.
Most concerning was an email discussion about insulating and protecting Town officials from public opposition to the project. We saw little or no mention of engaging the public and developing a collaborative approach.
The Select Board meets next on Tuesday, September 10, at 6 p.m. The agenda and Zoom link can be found here: https://www.shutesbury.org/calendars. We urge interested public members to make their views known by attending a Select Board Meeting, either in person at Town Hall or by Zoom, and making a public comment at the beginning of the meeting when there is a call for public comments.
By policy, however, the Select Board will not answer questions or respond to public comments, but at least the public's voice can be heard. Interestingly, in reading the Town officials' correspondence obtained by Shutesbury Rights of Wetlands through a public records request (downloadable at https://www.shutesburyrightsofwetlands.org/about-6), one can perceive that Town officials seemed more concerned with strategies to insulate Town employees from public opposition to spraying than they are with developing a responsive, transparent public input process that might reassure the public.
The Community Preservation Committee is holding a Public Hearing on September 19 at 7 pm at Town Hall and via Zoom: https://www.shutesbury.org/calendars. Information about the CPC can be found at https://www.shutesbury.org/community_preservation. Written comments can also be submitted to cpc@shutesbury.org.
This is an opportunity to tell the CPC that you want to see environmental protection and public health protection added as Goals for the CPC Plan and that projects that fail to meet those criteria should be ineligible for CPC funding.
For ongoing updates and resources, go to shutesburyrightsofwetlands.org.