Barnstable County Report

Precinct Thirteen's Eightball

Here is Milne's most recent  foray into diplomacy

The good news for residents of Barnstable's thirteenth precinct may be that J. Gregory Milne will not be, cannot be their town councillor after 2011. The bad news may also be that they are stuck with him until then, unless he does something really stupid or criminal to force him out of office. Here is Milne's most recent  foray into diplomacy. In the spirit of so many of Barnstable's great dramatic events this story happened at the town transfer station in Marston's Mills.

On Saturday, July 26 at or shortly after noon Milne, flush with his recent success at being allowed to claim his elected seat on the town's charter commission drove into the transfer station in a pick up truck. According to the written reports of three transfer station employees now in the hands of town officials, what followed was to say the least unusual.

Milne has a valid sticker for the transfer station, but he is limited, as are all holders of these residential stickers to a specific number of 30 gallon trash bags. The gate attendant determined that Milne had brought more than the limit into the facility and that he owed an additional $5.00 for the overage. Milne object and proceeded to complain that the rule resulting in this charge is a "stupid rule." And he should know, because he is a town councilor....but he is only at the transfer station as a citizen. Things got somewhat heated as Milne's language deteriorated and his temper rose. He claimed that he had not been to the facility for more than a week and that he should therefore be entitled to a break on the extra fee. The attendant and a coworker at the gate both said that he, Milne, had been in a few days earlier and that anyway the rule is what it is.

Some of the highlights of the two gate attendant's' reports: "He (Milne) immediately became upset and said that it was a stupid regulation and that he did not have time for this. He started to drive off and I told him to hold on that there would be a charge. He said he was not going to pay." And, "I said are you kidding me? You are a town councillor and you are acting like this? I repeated this 3 times. He kept yelling that he wasn't going to pay. At that time I had to help other customers. He started swearing, using the F word."........

Milne claimed he did not have enough cash with him to pay the $5.00 but then discovered loose change in his ashtray. He threw it on the gatehouse steps and waited. The  change was counted, rung into the register and a receipt was presented to the still irate and now verbally abusive Milne. Unwilling to absorb any more of Councillor Milne's abuse the attendant called for the transfer station foreman who came onto the scene and took over for his two staff members.

In his report the foreman wrote that he explained the standing eight-bag rule to Milne. The transfer station foreman's report reads, "He (Milne) replied that the 8 bag limit is rediculous and cannot be enforced." As the confrontation continued Milne said that "(we) should use our employees in other areas to enforce recycling." Milne was told he should discuss any problems he has with the rules with the town's solid waste manager, Glen Santos. Also contained in this report is the following, "He (Milne) said we have the highest fees on the Cape  and they should be should be lower and include anything you want to dispose of with no limits."......"He also muttered something about his friend got denied a low income sticker after he had received on years before."

The final paragraph of the foreman's report says, "During the conversation he (milne) kept bringing up tha he was a "citizen" and the fact that he is a town coun(s)ilor should have nothing to do with anything and I kept explaining that it does not make any difference and everyone has to abide by the same rules. He did apologize and we shook hands in the end before he left."

Greg Milne has a history of sorts with Barnstable transfer station stickers. Reliable sources say he once behaved rudely as he attempted to coerce a female employee to issue his friend a sticker for no fee or a reduced fee and that he employed similar tactics when attempting to acquire a free sticker for himself. This latest incident was sufficently upsetting for the three town employees who experienced Milne's lack of decorum that the foreman contacted the head of the town's Public Works Department who told him that all three transfer station employees should immediately write a report and deliver it to town hall. They have done so and BCR has copies of all three reports.

Officials in Barnbstable town hall are concerned by Milne's pattern of employee abuse and by his clear belief that he is entitled to special treatment at least, if not to ignoring completely rules he does not like. This is a ticklish situation because the subject of these horror stories is, after all....J. Gregory Milne...than whom there is none greater. Milne is also a candidate for County Commissioner and would presumably, if elected to that post, bring with him his take charge and f... you attitude.

Interesting town, Barnstable. There is more to come in this saga.