DATV pacts stir concern
Selectmen question need for nondisclosure agreements
Dracut » The Board of Selectmen learned Tuesday night that it would probably “not be in the town’s best interest” for the board’s appointee to the Dracut Access Television Board of Directors to sign a nondisclosure agreement.
Town Counsel James Hall’s statement came in response to a question from Selectwoman Alison Genest. Hall said he needs to read the agreement so he was giving the board his “first impression” of the document.
However, Hall said that the requirement for a nondisclosure (or confidentiality) agreement “is so unique in the public sector that I would be shocked to find a situation like it.” Hall told the board he will be doing research to determine if other local access channels have a similar requirement.
Selectmen have demanded more financial information from DATV, but have not been satisfied with what they have received. Selectman Joseph Dirocco has been particularly displeased with the cable operation. He asked Hall whether selectmen can replace DATV. Hall said they probably can but it would be difficult. “They would probably sue us, or we could sue them.”
Selectmen recently appointed Brian Genest as a DATV director. Genest told selectmen that he must sign the agreement before participating in the quarterly DATV board meeting on Jan. 28.
Genest said he’d received a packet of policies that need to be signed, including a code of ethics, a whistleblower policy and the confidentiality policy. He compared that policy to nondisclosure agreements he signed when working in high tech.
Asked by Selectmen Chairman Jesse Forcier about “the elephant in the room” — the confidentiality policy — and who noted that “it was in the newspaper today,” Genest said. “So, I have not signed the confidentiality policy, but I never discussed it with the newspaper. I did the same thing with their confidentiality policy as I did with all the others. I sought legal counsel to make sure it was up to snuff.”
To date Genest has not signed the agreement. As someone who has been employed by technology companies, Genest said he has signed NDAS in the past. Genest is the husband of Alison Genest.
The selectmen’s relationship with DATV has frayed in recent months as board members have pressed for financial detail about its operations. In October, long-time DATV board member Jack Lyons resigned from the board when he was asked to sign a confidentiality agreement.
Genest was named to replace Lyons. In addition to the selectmen’s appointee, the town manager and School Committee are each entitled to designate a member of the DATV board. Town Manager Ann Vandal this week replaced Glenn Mello with Matt Sheehan. Sheehan has said he will not sign the agreement.
Dirocco said Vandal replaced Mello because he did not oppose the agreement language. DATV’S lawyer, Sheryl M. Bourbeau, of the Lowell firm Gallager & Cavanaugh, issued a press release regarding Mello Tuesday evening.
“The DATV Board of Directors announces the resignation of Glenn Mello from the Board of Directors due to a residency change. While we are sad to see him leave, we wish him joy and happiness in his new home. We are also cheered by his announcement to remain active in the Dracut community through various charitable organizations and events in which his name has become synonymous,” the DATV release read.
In the release, Mello said: “It has been an honor and privilege to serve on DATV’S board of directors since Dennis Piendak appointed me years ago. From sporting events to town meetings to the annual Dracut Scholarship Foundation Telethon, I’ve watched DATV grow to provide a multitude of quality programming to the Dracut community. With its beautiful and logistically efficient new studio and its dedicated employees led by Gary Meuse, DATV is the gem of public access television in the Merrimack Valley.”
The board is likely to hear directly from Bour