ROCKPORT — With the threat of litigation weighing heavily, embattled Selectman Ellen Canavan issued a public apology to the owners of the former Carnegie Library in response to a comment she made on the Times' Web Site regarding their intention to sell the home for six times the price they paid the town to acquire it.
David and Gail Vastola sent a letter to selectmen June 5 stating Canavan and the town would be sued for defamation of character for her Web statement if the first-term selectman did not issue a public apology within one week.
The nearly 4,000 square-foot building, sold by the town for $506,800 to the Florida couple two years ago, is back on the market for $3.2 million.
Canavan implied the Vastolas' attempt to sell the home for six times what they paid for it as an attempt to swindle Rockport.
"I might consider news ... the background of the Carneigie (sic) Library now on the market for $3.2M," Canavan wrote in a June 1 comment on www.gloucestertimes.com. "How about the fleecing of Rockport?"
In his letter, Vastola wrote "Mrs. Vastola and I find these remarks inflammatory, untrue and do not represent the town that Ms. Canavan represents."
The complaint, which normally would've been discussed in executive session, was instead handled in open session Tuesday night per Canavan's request.
Canavan indicated she was shocked by the Times' June 4 article, which quoted her online comment, and denied using the term swindle. Canavan was not quoted as using the term swindle in the article as Vastolas' letter mistakenly suggested. The Vastolas did not attend the meeting.
In addition to the apology, Canavan also committed herself to choosing her words more wisely and pledged to cease posting comments online.
When Canavan was finished, fellow selectmen condemned the comments that inspired the complaint.
"This was another in a growing list of what I believe to be very disrespectful comments that Selectman Canavan has made. Several of them have been about staff and other volunteers and this time she involved citizens," Selectman Sarah Wilkinson said. "I want the citizens to know that Selectman Canavan's comments are her own and I do not agree with them."
"Frankly, it is embarrassing to me that as leaders of the town this is what we have spent time on," she continued. "I hope we can all move on and continue to work for the good of the town and treat all citizens with respect."
Indeed, this was the second complaint brought against Canavan since she won election in May 2008.
Last fall, selectmen ordered Canavan to issue a written apology to then Historical Commission member Nat Johnson, as a result of an inappropriate e-mail Canavan sent to the South Street resident in response to his review of the town administrator; she referred to him as a "sick puppy."
Canavan once again came under fire earlier this year for statements she made on the Times' online comments. Using her own last name, she called former Selectman Armand Aparo "pretty boy" and Wilkinson "Miss Manners."
Selectman Charles Clark offered a statement similar to Wilkinson's to while Selectman Andrew Heinze reminded Canavan there is a right way and wrong way to do things.
Selectmen Chairman Sandy Jacques offered comments last and said though Canavan's choice of words were unfortunate, the incident has resurrected questions pertaining to who made the costly decision to turn off heat to the vacant library building.
"It was an unfortunate use of words and certainly did not reflect the opinion of the board nor the citizens of the Town of Rockport whom the board represents," Jacques said. "It's very hard for me to understand how (the Vastolas) could've even been (considered to be) in the space of fleecing because they paid over $500,000 for the property and dumped a sizeable chunk of change into the building and if they can get six times what they paid, that's their prerogative."
David Vastola said earlier this month that he was well aware that some residents may view he and his wife as "speculators," but the realities that fueled their decision to sell, he said, were major restoration cost overruns and the sinking economy. In August 2007, Vastola said he thought it would cost about $500,000 to renovate the inside of the building, which had fallen into disrepair and developed mold problems since it was abandoned as the town's library in 1993.
The home, at the intersection of Jewett and Cleaves streets, is being marketed by the Beverly Farms office of By the Sea Sotheby's International Realty. It features three bedrooms, a granite-arched entrance, an underground two-car garage, polished marble floor, 3 1âÑ2 baths, and a chef's kitchen with state-of-the-art appliances.
Jonathan L'Ecuyer can be reached at jlecuyer@gloucestertimes.com.
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