Lexington Select Board Removes Tree Committee Member, Advances High School Warrant

LEXINGTON -- October 6, 2025, Lexington Select Board unanimously removed a 20-year tree committee volunteer and advanced a high school debt exclusion warrant in a single October 6 meeting. The board voted five to zero to remove Gerry Paul from the tree committee after an independent investigator hired by the town's Human Resources Department found he violated the town's guidelines for civil discourse in his treatment of Department of Public Works staff, a finding Town Manager Steve Bartha said was rooted in Paul's "continued pursuit" of employee records and repeated allegations of bylaw enforcement failures, including 67 irregularity claims in 2023 citing more than $600,000 in lost revenue and 22 more this spring citing an additional $400,000. Paul disputed the findings as "false and unsubstantiated," telling the board that pursuing public records cannot constitute a civil discourse violation. Separately, the board voted unanimously to include Article 97 open-space protection language in the special town meeting warrant for the Lexington High School replacement project, rejecting an alternative path under 1961 state legislation, and set a special election for December 8, 2025; the board also voted unanimously to move 2026 Patriots Day events to Saturday, April 18, citing public safety resource advantages and higher projected attendance.