FRIENDS AND THE PLANNING COMMISSION

​The Friends of Algiers Village Filed Purpose reads: It shall seek to enable the residents of the Village to live in harmony with (…) their fellow citizens by buying, selling, and holding land and properties, including housing, and by education.  The word “education” is how the “friends” justify their 501c3 nonprofit status.

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To help the "Friends" secure more Land and Building opportunities, the Guilford Selectboard, lead by Richard Wizansky (Friends and the Library) and Zon Eastes (Friends and Election Integrity) orchestrated the firing of Guilford’s 9-member Planning Commission. (PC)

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After volunteering for 5 years and enduring the difficulties of Covid, all the commissioners were fired suddenly by receiving certified letters. This was done only weeks before the plans scheduled submittal date.

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At 53:40, a member of the Commission who was fired asked the Selectboard, “why was the Planning Commission not invited to address your concerns before you terminated us?” 

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After an 8-second pause, the response from Selectboard Chairman Richard Wizansky was: “That’s an interesting question.”

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Following another uncomfortable pause, Zon, acting as the Selectboard’s Liaison to the Planning Commission, stated: “I think that’s a very good question. It was not considered because it was not required. It was not part of the discussion.”
 

In this process, four legacy farmers were fired from the Planning Commission and no farmers were reinstated. The Chairwoman of the PC was then replaced with a Trustee of the Guilford Library. ​

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On behalf of the newly established PC, Mike Szostak, petitioned the selectboard and was awarded $45,000 in ARPA funds to hire DuBois & King as a “strategic planner." See Friends and ARPA Funds

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DuBois & King, Inc. was previously paid to perform a Bike Path and Pedestrian Feasibility Study. That study was being promoted by State Representative Sarah Coffey. See Friends and The Reserve Fund​

 

So, the Planning Commission was fired suddenly and only weeks before they were scheduled to deliver the Town Plan they had been working on for 5 years. What changed from one Plan to the next?

 

The word “Wastewater” was the only substantial change to the Town Plan from one Commission to the next. That word signals public approval for sewer expansion projects which help secure grants for sewer feasibility studies.​

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It would have been all but impossible to convince those four farmers to agree that Guilford should pursue a sewer expansion project. Instead of trying, the entire Planning Commission was terminated and replaced with members who would comply.

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Public wastewater is necessary for the Friends of Algiers to increase the real estate available for them to purchase and develop. They admit this in an August of 2022 article about “Wastewater” which was published in the Guilford Gazette.

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The author of this article is listed as the "Guilford Conservation and Planning Commissions," and states, “Notably the buildings that the Friends of Algiers renovated or had built wouldn’t have been possible without the Algiers water and wastewater systems expansions.

 

Similarly, the affordable housing planned for the GPI property off Partridge Road could only move forward due to the existence of appropriate wastewater and water infrastructure.”

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GPI stands for Guilford Preservation Inc, and the registered agent is a man named Bill Jewel. Bill is a director for the Friends of Algiers and was also appointed to the Planning Commission by Zon. 

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Two years after the PC was fired, GPI looked to put in “affordable housing” on Partridge Road, which is directly behind the building owned by the Friends of Algiers.​

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What the Commissions did not disclose in their article about "Wastewater" is that the land was deeded by the Deceased Widower to GPI for "Senior Housing," not "Affordable housing."

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Residents of Guilford have shown that they would embrace "Senior Housing." However, they contested the “Low Income” housing project GPI was offering by confronting them with their own deed where it states specifically "Senior Housing." GPI has since backed away from their plans for “other reasons.”

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To Add, ​​now that the Friends of Algiers have stacked the Planning Commission with their "friends," they can write the Town plan to suit their agenda. Guilford’s Capital Improvement Fund Policy has also been rewritten for this purpose.

 

The primary reason for changing this fund is explained in the PRIORITY CRITERIA section of the new policy where it states that: Asset projects may receive a higher priority if they meet certain criteria, such as:

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1. The project meets a policy goal or fulfills a strategic objective of the Selectboard and the Town Plan.

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