For almost three years now, the Town of St. Michaels Commissioners has spent a good amount of time and energy to create a plan to build a new town office and a new police station. The commissioners looked at several options during this period to find the right location for each, including having them be located in a mixed-use facility, but eventually came to the conclusion that both the town hall and police department should have their own location, and voted unanimously two years ago to move forward with plans to construct its new town hall on Fremont Street.
That decision, and the process to reach that conclusion, worried some citizens in town. Citing a lack of transparency, potential conflicts of interest, and the extra costs associated with building two rather than one facility, that group recently formed the St. Michaels Action Committee to address those concerns.
The Spy sat down with SMAC’s John Novak last week to understand those issues and the group’s desire for a reevaluation of the Commission’s original decision. Given the complexity of this project, we decided to extend this interview format beyond our normal ten minutes to allow John to make the group’s case for a new feasibility study.
This video is approximately sixteen minutes in length. For more information about the St. Michaels Action Committee please contact John at [email protected].
Paulette Florio says
I have been an avid reader and proponent of the Talbot Spy for a long time. I am so disappointed in the interview you awarded John Novak, 16 minutes no less. I cannot help wondering how and why such an interview appealed to you. I hope you are re-inviting Commissioner Bill Boos plus Commissioner Windon and the Ethics Committee plus the St. Michaels town manager, Jean Weisman to respond with the accurate information regarding decisions made by our town administration and staff concerning the issues John Novak spoke of. You will find a different story and accurate facts regarding these matters. Please allow the correct information to be presented. Those individuals in St. Michaels making decisions about its future care so deeply about St. Michaels. I charge you with balancing the facts presented by John Novak with the truth.
Thank you
Paulette Florio
St. Michaels resident, business owner, member of the Planning and Zoning Commission
Editor says
Thank you for your comment. To be clear, we have interviewed Commissioner Boos three times in the past year on the issue of the St. Michaels town hall. Here are links for your information.
https://talbotspy.org/catching-up-on-st-michaels-with-commissioner-bill-boos-fall-2019/
https://talbotspy.org/catching-up-on-st-michaels-plans-with-commissioner-bill-boos-summer-2019/
https://talbotspy.org/a-conversation-with-st-michaels-commissioners-president-william-boos/
In keeping with our mission of providing different points of view, we felt it was important to offer those opposing current plans for the town hall an opportunity to make their case.
The Spy has also offered Mr. Boos another opportunity to respond to the St. Michaels Action Committee concerns. We look forward to sharing that with our readers in the near future.
Chris Hauge says
Great job advocating for transparency in pubic matters and public resources! It is readily apparent that the leadership of St. Michaels is either ignorant of the law and best public business practices or something deeper. The conflicts are apparently multiple. I wonder what the wise attorney for the town has to say about this?
Michael Estrella says
In response to Mr. Hauge’s comments on this story, let me offer the following…While I am not sure how the Town’s attorney might respond to your insinuations, perhaps he might say that INNUENDO ISN’T FACT! (How’s that for deeper?)