EPSOM – Epsom selectmen shut the public out of deliberations on the fate of fired road agent Gordon Ellis, much to the dismay of Ellis and about 100 of his supporters who spilled out of the town hall on Monday, Dec. 18.

After about an hour and a half behind closed doors, selectmen made a decision on Ellis’ appeal of his October firing, and planned to notify him by mail within 72 hours of the decision, rather than informing him and the public waiting for the verdict that night.

Selectmen fired Ellis, who’s twice been elected as the town’s road agent, after confronting him with four charges related specific past jobs or his communication with the town’s road advisory committee. Selectmen have said Ellis repeatedly neglected their orders and failed to respond to warnings about his job performance.

Their decision on Ellis’ appeal wasn’t known to the public by press time.

A day after the nonpublic meeting, Ellis formally requested that the records of the meeting be made public within 72 hours.

In a letter to town attorney Catherine Costanzo, Ellis’ attorney, Lee Nyquist, referred to the board’s use of the Right to Know law in going nonpublic as “a bald-faced contrivance designed only to hide the actions of the selectmen from the voters who elected them. This is the most arrogant and unsupportable action by the selectmen to date in this unfortunate case.”

Nyquist told selectmen he thought the private meeting marked a violation of state statutes, and Ellis’ state and federal constitutional rights to a public hearing. The meeting followed a Nov. 27 meeting in which nearly 200 people flooded the fire station to hear testimony from Ellis and others.

“They shifted gears for some reason, in midstream, and said they didn’t want to have the deliberations in public,” Nyquist said after the closed-door meeting.

In correspondence to Costanzo leading up to the private deliberations, Nyquist lobbied for the meeting to occur in full view of the public.

“Mr. Ellis continues to assert his right to a public meeting,” he said. “The deliberations are a vital, perhaps most vital, part of the meeting already in progress.”

Costanzo, while enduring some jeers from some angry residents, argued that Ellis had no statutory right to the appeal meetings in the first place, and said he was given multiple opportunities to make his case publicly prior to, and since, the firing.

“He’s gotten above and beyond the process that’s due to him,” Costanzo said. “(Selectmen) have gone about this in a careful and deliberate manner.”

Most residents seemed distrusting of the board’s decision to deliberate out of the public view.

“What a bunch of gutless wonders,” said resident Larry Yeaton as residents were being ushered out of the packed meeting room.

The town hall chambers’ capacity was quickly met before the meeting, prompting Epsom Police Chief Wayne Preve to limit the number of people in the room to 60.

About 100 people gathered before the deliberations, but that number dwindled to about 85 by the time selectmen announced they’d made a decision.

Selectmen didn’t allow questions from the public prior to the closed-door session or immediately afterwards. The evening’s events apparently inspired anger even in typically mild-mannered residents.

Resident David Fiorentino, who’s been outspoken in favor of Ellis and against the charter of the road advisory committee, said he saw an older woman who “just looked nice, like someone’s mom,” sitting during the meeting.

By the time she exited, said Fiorentino, “She came out of here squawking like a chicken.”

Ellis, who’s name was imprinted on orange and yellow sweatshirts worn by many of his supporters, said he wanted the deliberations public because he has “nothing to hide.”

“It’s not the right thing for them to do,” said Ellis, who plans to run for election as road agent next year. “All these people here are voters. The voters should know what’s going on.”