Memorandum Seeks to Clarify Board of Public Works Role

A new memorandum agreed to by multiple Wayland boards and individuals seeks to better define the roles and relationships of the Board of Public Works.

On Aug. 20, Board of Public Works Chair Mike Lowery presented the memorandum to the Board of Selectmen seeking that board’s approval. While the document does not directly involve the relationship between those two boards, it does address the relationship between the Board of Public Works and Town Administrator Fred Turkington, who reports to the selectmen.

“The purpose of this memorandum is to make clear the lines of authority and reduce misunderstandings,” Lowery said.

Specifically, the memorandum documents its purpose is “to better identify and clarify the roles and responsibilities of the BoPW and [Department of Public Works], to set forth the expected level of communication, cooperation and collaboration among the BoPW, DPW, [Town Administrator] and [Board of Selectmen] in order to achieve this purpose, and to set forth the manner in which the BoPW can most efficiently and effectively exercise its authority and jurisdiction.”

In recent months, the Board of Public Works has been uninvolved in decisions about which it felt it should have been consulted, Lowery explained, adding that the board’s “authority, at times, has been marginalized or ignored.” Among those decisions was a discussion with Sudbury about a shared transfer station situation, a change to at the Wayland Transfer Station, and the performance review and contract extension of Department of Public Works Director Don Ouellette.

Lowery said that his board had engaged in lengthy discussion to develop the memorandum and had worked with both Turkington and Town Counsel Mark Lanza to further fine tune the document.

Turkington said that he wasn’t surprised these issues had arisen given the unique situation created when the Board of Public Works became an elected, rather than an appointed, board. The Recreation Commission is in a similar situation in terms of being elected, but was not part of this memorandum discussion.

“It’s no surprise that the two boards that have had some difficulty in finding a feeling that they are relevant and being supported are these two boards,” Turkington said. “Part of it is this idea that they are elected and [that] somehow puts them in certain category versus being appointed.

“If there’s anything that surprised me it's that these issues took three years to surface rather than when [Ouellette] was first hired.”

Under the memorandum, the Board of Public Works will receive the opportunity to provide feedback and recommendations when it comes to the DPW director’s hiring or reappointment. Ultimately, Turkington said, the hiring decision falls to him under existing bylaws, but he said he is “more than happy to include the Board of Public Works.”

Lowery acknowledged the need to operate within the confines of existing bylaws, but said his board wasn’t against proposing bylaw changes at Town Meeting if necessary.

“We feel that this is a good first start in clarifying relationships,” Lowery said. “It’s not easy for [Ouellette] to have two bosses, but we need everyone to understand that the [Board of Public Works] is not an advisory board. It is an elected board that is charged with certain responsibilities, and we intend to discharge those responsibilities.

“Either we make this agreement work, or we bring these issues to Town Meeting.”

Selectmen initially questioned why their approval of the document was sought given it is an agreement most directly between the Board of Public Works and Turkington. Lowery and Turkington, however, explained that the selectmen’s support of the document was critical given the selectmen's supervisory responsibility for Turkington.

Selectmen unanimously agreed to sign the memorandum. Additional signatures include those of the Board of Public Works, Turkington and Ouellette.