McClennen Resigns From Town Committees

ORLEANS – Alan McClennen on June 11 submitted his resignation from three town committees, effective immediately.

McClennen resigned from the affordable housing trust fund board, of which he was chair, as well as from his seats on the board of water and sewer commissioners and the town’s long range capital planning committee. He also will no longer serve as the water and sewer commissioners’ representative to the town’s wastewater management advisory committee.

The resignations bring to a close McClennen’s longtime involvement in town government on a variety of fronts. A former select board member, he’s been a vocal advocate for the creation of affordable housing in town. In recent years, he has also been actively involved in plans to restore the community building at 44 Main St., as well as in planning the early phases of sewer work in town. That included the construction of the town’s new wastewater treatment facility, which went on line in March 2023.

McClennen offered his resignations in writing to the select board in the wake of allegations that, as both trust fund board chair and a member of the committee charged with reviewing bids for the redevelopment of the Governor Prence Inn property, he communicated with officials from Pennrose in an effort to help the developer get awarded the project.

Speaking to the select board June 12, McClennen offered apologies to “staff, town committees and all residents of Orleans” for what he called a “procedural error” in communicating with Pennrose after the developer had formally submitted its bid for the project.

“This was a procedural error because the RFP states that all requests for information should go through the licensing agent and procurement coordinator,” he said.

McClennen’s current terms on the trust fund board and the board of water and sewer commissioners were due to expire on June 30. His term on the long range capital planning committee expires June 30, 2026.

In his resignation letter, McClennen said there would be conflict going forward in his work with the water and sewer commissioners, as the developer of the Governor Prence Inn property would ultimately have to come before the board for its sewer allocation.

Regarding his involvement in the long range capital planning committee, McClennen said staying on the committee could put him “in a position of perceived conflict” related to a $2 million debt exclusion in the current capital improvement plan for demolition and site restoration on the Prence property. He also said in his letter that he does not want to be considered for any other town committees in the future.

Speaking to the select board, McClennen said he chose to resign from all committees to avoid further being a “distraction” to the Prence process.

“Over the years, it has been an honor to serve as a volunteer on Orleans committees,” he said. “But I deeply regret this lack of judgment and the confusion it has caused.”

Neal Ahern, an Orleans resident who earlier this month presented emails detailing communications between McClennen and Pennrose officials including Charlie Adams, the company’s regional vice president, accepted McClennen’s apology June 12 and thanked him for “being accountable to his actions.” But he said there was more blame to go around regarding how the Governor Prence RFP process unfolded.

Ahern specifically called out George Meservey, the town’s director of planning and community development, who he said “regularly strategized and collaborated with” McClennen and Adams, according to the more than 1,800 email communications he received through a Freedom of Information Act request to the town in May.

In one email, Ahern said Meservey asked McClennen to get a March joint meeting between the select board and the trust fund board set up because he needed to get the project “lined up.”

“George’s actions have left this voter with less than zero faith in his ability to look out for the best interests of our town and its residents,” Ahern said.

After the June 12 meeting, Town Manager Kim Newman said she discussed the RFP with Meservey.

“I have met with George,” she said. “I felt confident that he was put in an unusual situation because of the behavior potentially of the chair of the trust. I think he does have the best interest of the town. I think George is a good planner.”

Ahern also was critical of what he saw as the select board’s failure to stop what he saw as the “broken, corrupted RFP process.” Specifically, he questioned select board member Kevin Galligan, one of the board’s two representatives to the RFP review committee, for allegedly putting Adams in contact with Chatham housing officials, who are also entertaining project proposals from Pennrose.

“If I get asked by somebody, I respond,” Galligan said in response to Ahern’s comments after the meeting. “That’s all I did.”

Select board members accepted McClennen’s resignations “with thanks” Wednesday night.

Email Ryan Bray at ryan@capecodchronicle.com