In Response to Northeast Metro Tech Attorney Julie Barry

On Tuesday, February 21, one of the many attorneys for the Northeast Metro Tech, Julie Pruitt Barry, attended the Conservation Commission meeting. She was joined by about 58 other people, an extraordinarily high number of participants.  A majority of these participants were citizens.

The Wakefield Item featured a front page article about this meeting the following day. The article in the Item told only half the story. I am here to tell the other half.

Certified Hydrogeologist, Doug Heath, a longtime Wakefield resident and esteemed environmental scientist who for years worked for the EPA, used his decades of expertise to initiate water quality testing to help ensure that the wetlands on and near the planned new vocational school land are and will continue to be protected.

Doug Heath has worked his entire adult life fighting for a cleaner environmental for all of us. This professional also wrote a letter concerning his efforts and the severe environmental dangers of deadly road salts and other toxic chemicals likely to run from the vocational school site during and after construction. His letter was published in the Item the day of the Conservation Commission meeting.

This letter had an apparent effect on Ms. Barry, for she not only thought it was wise to reference and mischaracterize the letter but also to call out the resident who’d written it. Ms. Barry’s first mistake was to make accusations based on her own erroneous assumptions. She implied that Mr. Heath was lying and accused him of trespassing. Luckily Mr. Heath was present at the meeting and was able to respond to the accusations made by Ms. Barry, and to correct her misstatements, during which time Ms. Barry rudely interrupted Mr. Heath on more than one occasion.

Ms. Barry’s second mistake was not to first inquire about the location at which the water work was done. Ms. Barry’s third mistake was to assume he had been on NEMT land. Ms. Barry’s fourth mistake was to call it private property; it is not private property, for only corporations and individuals can own private property.

 Ms. Barry’s next mistake in this exchange was to mischaracterize Mr. Heath’s intent, making him out as ‘the bad guy’.  Ms. Barry’s next error was her gross misrepresentation of the contents of Mr. Heath’s letter, claiming that the letter said the Conservation Commission wasn’t doing its job. The letter said no such thing.  In fact, Mr. Heath and several other residents have been working cooperatively and with good rapport with members of the Conservation Commission. (Videos of these meetings will reflect that rapport as well as the unpleasant behavior displayed Tuesday night.) Lots of mistakes for a seasoned attorney - and surprisingly disrespectful and unprofessional.

The phrase “The lady doth protest too much, methinks", comes to mind. There is simply no excuse for this kind of behavior and it speaks loudly to how the highly-paid NEMT team feels about the public and those who stick their necks out in an effort to protect the environment and preserve Wakefield’s only remaining forested Core Habitat.

The Conservation Commission has consistently done an excellent job of including the public in a respectful manner. It has done much over the years to correct Wakefield’s unfortunate history of disrespecting residents during public meetings.

Now, if the paid professionals would follow suit, we just might be able to solve the environmentally catastrophic problems inherent in building the new vocational school on the forested hilltop.

Bronwyn Della-Volpe