A meeting between Wilton Town Administration and the Nashua Regional Planning Commission (NRPC) was abruptly canceled on Tuesday afternoon. The meeting, which was posted on the town agenda, was called off 30 minutes prior to its 3 p.m. start time.
The bulletin had not been posted with a link to the virtual meeting. When a reporter called the town offices, they were told that the meeting was not open to the public. This information was contradictory to the event posting, which stated that a quorum would be present. A quorum, by NH RSA 91-A, commonly referred to as the “Right-to-Know-Law,” constitutes a public meeting.
The exceptions to this law that would permit a meeting to be closed to the public are highly restricted.
Matthew Fish, chair of the Wilton Select Board, confirmed the right of public attendance in a voicemail to a reporter.
“This is news to me that the meeting is closed, as it absolutely should not be,” said Fish.
Fish added that it was a preliminary meeting with the NRPC and was the first in a series of public hearings.
Janice Pack, Deputy Town Administrator, told a reporter that the necessary preparations for a public meeting had not been carried out and the meeting would be rescheduled.