Selectboard chair resigns in Moultonborough

MOULTONBOROUGH — The Moultonborough Town Meeting, thrice delayed and scheduled for Saturday, has been postponed at a time when the town’s leadership is in flux. Joel Mudgett, chairman of the town selectboard, resigned from his position on Thursday evening.

As Mudgett explained in the meeting, he has come under fire from proponents of an expanded recreation department, both for his opposition to a $6.7 million proposal to build a new recreation center, and for his opposition, due to coronavirus concerns, to the opening of the rec department’s day camp.

Mudgett, along with three of the other four selectmen, also opposed the town moderator’s plan to hold the town meeting on Saturday. Selectmen voted 4-1 to urge the moderator to postpone the meeting in light of a forecast that called for hot weather on Saturday.

Town Moderator Paul Punturieri planned for a drive-in style town meeting, with voters staying in their cars in a large field on the Sandwich Fair Grounds. Mudgett, along with the majority of the board, was concerned that the heat would present a health risk to those in attendance, and would keep many voters away from the meeting.

Mudgett didn’t return calls for comment, but made his feelings clear in the meeting on Thursday night.

“At 9:30 this morning, down at my shop, out in the parking lot, it was 85 degrees. That was at 9:30. It didn’t take long to go to 90 from then,” he said. Mudgett said that even Punturieri was aware of the likelihood that the conditions would be too hot to hold the meeting.

“I will say that, I don’t know if it was after the cameras were off, the moderator said to us, that we should be looking to see if there’s anything else we wanted to move forward after articles five and six were taken care of, because after that it was going to get too hot and we’re going to have to shut down the meeting,” Mudgett said. The town warrant has 27 articles this year. “If he feels anywheres near it could be this way at this point, I do not understand why he wants to go through it… I am totally against it , that is that.”

Mudgett said he was “rather disappointed that we’ve turned this into a show,” and contested depictions of recent events that described him as opposed to the town’s recreation department. Toward the end of the meeting, he read from a prepared statement:

“Please accept my resignation from the M Selectboard on the evening of June 18, 2020. This is always more to one side to a story. I feel it’s best for me to move on before I say something that should not be said. I have always enjoyed working with the boards, town employees and also the town residents. Thank you all, Joel Mudgett.”

He then continued, “Maybe that will please some people, maybe we can move on and get by some of this stupidity. To me, it is totally ridiculous to continue on this way. So, if me going home, and being all done, will help at all, I’m glad to do it. To be absolutely truthful with ya, I bought myself a new toy… so I can go out and enjoy myself and enjoy some of the summer since I’m not going to have to work around the clock, and if this will help with everything, I hope it will. Thank you much.”