Even if you are the most casual listener to the gossip passed around at the local deli or restaurant, you have probably heard about the rumblings that occur every other Thursday from the Wawarsing Town Hall on Canal Street. It seems pretty clear that the councilpersons and the Supervisor for the Town have a hard time getting along. The extent of this friction has even been documented by other area publications. But the spectacle that was put on during last Thursday's meeting may have been the most disturbing of all the Board's well-known battles.

The evening started out fairly pleasant. The Town Board was quickly moving through its slate of resolutions. There were some jabs made by each of the councilpersons and the Supervisor but nothing out of the ordinary. It seemed like the meeting would clock in at a tidy hour and a half. That is when Councilman John Gavaris, strongly supported by Councilwoman Ruth Ann Gunter, engaged in what could be best described as a coup or censure of Supervisor James Dolaway.

The issue started during the portion of the meeting noted in the agenda as "Councilperson Concerns". Apparently, Councilman Gavaris had formulated four resolutions that he wanted to bring before the Board so that they could be discussed and voted on. He felt that he had provided Dolaway with enough time to place them on the meeting's agenda and that Dolaway had refused to place them on the agenda out of spite.

This is when an otherwise uneventful meeting turned into a gruesome display of political and personal infighting.

Mr. Dolaway responded to Gavaris by saying that Mr. Gavaris had not acted in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order (a set of guidelines for conducting meetings) when he wished his motions to be considered.

Mr. Gavaris responded by saying that "Robert's Rules of order are not a set of laws, they are a guide."

Dolaway responded to complaints about the Board meeting's agenda always arriving late and Gavaris' desire to raise motions during "councilperson's concerns" by saying that, "You want to play by the rules. You want everything but you won't play by the rules."

After the initial argument, Dolaway informed the Board and the audience that up until then he had run a free and easy meeting, but since he had received so many complaints, he was going to "run a tighter ship."

From that point on, each of the Board members seemed to kill each other with kindnesses as Mr. Dolaway insisted that no one speak unless he, as Supervisor, had given the councilperson the floor.

However, this did not stop the outbursts as, in turn Councilwoman Gunter, Councilman Gavaris and Supervisor Dolaway each raised their voices in anger and frustration. Gunter referred to Dolaway's "smoke and mirrors" in trying to conceal certain parts of his administration and, at one point, asked if Dolaway had tried to threaten her; Gavaris called Dolaway, "a dictator" for suppressing certain resolutions and went so far as to say, "All Hail the Grand Pooba!" as he threw up his hands. Councilmen Geelan and Houck sat back in their chairs, clearly uncomfortable with the situation that had developed.

Mr. Dolaway then recounted a story that occurred prior to the most recent Town elections and insinuated that Mr. Gavaris ran for the purposes of self-aggrandizement instead of for the purpose of serving the community. Gavaris responded by citing his various acts of volunteer work with the fire and rescue squad and other organizations as clear examples that Mr. Dolaway's allegations were false.

Councilman Tom Geelan asked that the Board discuss these issues in executive session because he said, "we look like a bunch of —" which elicited a round of applause from the audience that was still gathered for the meeting. Mr. Geelan was then told that the issues being discussed were not appropriate material for executive session and the evening continued.

As the night wore on (the meeting went until 11:30 p.m., roughly four and a half hours), audience members shook their heads in disgust, muttered things in frustration and looked down in embarrassment at their Town Board. Some comments that were overheard were, "Who elected these people?", "This is the worst Town Board I have ever seen", and "This is so dysfunctional." One audience member, Howard Baul, marveled at the spectacle the night had produced and said, "It's better than T.V. [But] you can't run government that way."

One audience member, prior to leaving, appealed to the Board that they find a more peaceful way to coexist and many other audience members agreed. The audience member went on to say that she hoped that there would be some way to reach a resolution to all of the conflict now that, "so much bad blood has been spilled."

The core issues that seemed to be the impetus for any of these resolutions was the feeling that Supervisor Dolaway often acts without the consent of the Town Board, often speaks for the Town Board without consulting all of its members and attempts to prevent Board members from knowing the various workings of the Town.

The resolutions focused on three areas: 1) Dolaway's alleged refusal to include certain resolutions if they do not meet with his approval; 2) Dolaway's alleged attempt to deny Town Councilpersons knowledge of meetings that have direct bearing on the Town; 3) Dolaway's alleged habit of speaking on behalf of the Town in matters of business prior to consulting the Board. A fourth resolution, requesting that the Supervisor notify a member of the Board prior to taking a meeting that could require Town action was rescinded as an act of good faith by Councilman Gavaris.

All of the issues passed and with the next Town meeting scheduled for September 7, it remains to be seen just how the Board and the Supervisor will interact. (Editor's Note: The resolutions can be read in their entirety in the Local Government section of this edition of The Journal.)

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