Colchester First Selectman Bernie Dennler has filed a police report concerning allegations of a potential contractor attempting to bribe a member of the town’s Recreation Needs and Coordination Ad Hoc Committee, according to email correspondence included with Colchester’s Board of Finance agenda.

“Last week, a member of the Recreation Needs and Coordination Ad Hoc Committee alleged possible bribery directed toward him by a subcontractor affiliated with a company currently performing design services for the Board of Education,” Dennler wrote in a November 12 email. “The town takes allegations of this nature very seriously, but our boards do not have the ability to properly investigate such a claim. For that reason, I reached out to the state attorney’s office today. On their advice, I will be filing a police report so that this matter can be investigated by the proper authorities.”

According to sources close to the matter, Recreation Ad Hoc Committee member Luke McCoy made the allegation during a November 6 meeting of the committee. Those meetings are not recorded, and the allegation is not included in the meeting minutes at this time. The alleged incident purportedly occurred sometime in late March or early April 2024 and involves the Colchester Board of Education’s push to update the athletic fields at Bacon Academy.

The Colchester Board of Education contracted with FieldTurf, a national company specializing in athletic field design and astroturf, for design work to redo the athletic fields at Bacon Academy. The Ad Hoc Committee was formed by the Colchester Board of Selectmen to evaluate the recreational needs and assets of the town and make recommendations to the Board of Selectmen; one of the projects they will evaluate will be redoing the athletic fields at Bacon Academy. 

The project was already beset with allegations of a possible conflict of interest over a purported personal relationship between Colchester Superintendent Daniel Sullivan and one of FieldTurf’s subcontractors, Liberty Landscapes, which is being considered for installation of the athletic field. Sullivan has denied any personal relationship with the owners of Liberty Landscapes; however, he did indicate during an April 16 Board of Education meeting that he previously rented a home from “one contractor that we’ve spoken with.”

“In recent weeks several public comments have been made that either allege or imply that I have close personal relationships with contractors, that is not true,” Sullivan said. “As Board of Education members know, one contractor that we’ve spoken with is my former landlord and also a parent when I was a high school principal. We never spent time socially, nor do we exchange Christmas cards. We didn’t contact him because of a personal relationship, we contacted him because field construction is a niche business, and his company is highly respected.”

McCoy, a landscape architect for the firm KBA, was one of those people alleging a personal relationship, according to a cease-and-desist letter sent to McCoy on behalf of Sullivan and the Board of Education on April 4 – the same day McCoy was appointed to the Ad Hoc Committee by the Board of Selectmen — advising McCoy to stop making such allegations or potentially face consequences for defamation.

“It has been brought to our attention that you have participated in public comment at public meetings in Colchester and alleged that the Superintendent is ‘personal friends’ with a proposed contractor who is being considered for installation of a turf field,” the letter from Shipman & Goodwin said. “Please be advised that making false statements that affect the reputation of an individual is defamation. Public figures can recover damages against a person making defamatory remarks if the public figure can show that untrue statements were made ‘with knowledge that it was false or reckless disregard of whether it was false or not.’”

It was the second cease and desist letter McCoy had received; the first coming on behalf of FieldTurf from the firm Winston & Strawn on March 27, after McCoy expressed concerns about FieldTurf to the Board of Selectmen, including alleging a relationship between Sullivan and the contractor, and that the selection of FieldTurf bypassed municipal procurement requirements.

The letter accused McCoy of trying to tank FieldTurf’s potential job because he works for another field design firm, a potential competitor.

“FieldTurf understands this may not be the first project during which you have made negative public statements or insinuations about Field Turf, nor were the above meetings necessarily your only efforts to drive business away from Field Turf toward competing firms – either to KBA or a field manufacturer with whom you/KBA have a relationship,” the letter states. “While you are entitled to exercise your free speech rights, and nothing herein should be read to the contrary, FieldTurf cautions you against making any false statements or implications, or unfounded threats, aimed toward unfairly interfering with FieldTurf’s prospective business interests.”

It was reportedly between the dates of the first cease and desist letter on March 27 from FieldTurf and the second letter on April 4 from the Superintendent and BOE, that McCoy was allegedly asked by a contractor affiliated with FieldTurf how much it would take for him to “walk away,” according to those who were present at the November 6 Ad Hoc Committee meeting, prompting Dennler’s report to the police.

Reached for comment, Field Turf Regional Vice President Andrew Dyjak said the claims are “disappointing” and detracting from what could be a great project for the town.

“The fact is that no subcontractor associated with FieldTurf would engage in the type of conduct described in your email,” Dyjak wrote in response to an email inquiry. “FieldTurf is the industry leader for a reason, and our reputation as a company speaks for itself.  We also have a longstanding relationship with the subcontractor in question, and I know them to be both honorable and reputable.”

During a November 13 Board of Finance meeting, just one day after Dennler’s email, former selectman Jason LaChapelle addressed the allegations during public comment, asking the BOF to look into the BOE’s contract with FieldTurf.

“There was within a span of a two-week time period between the interviews for the Rec Needs Committee and the appointment, all three players – and by players, I mean the Board of Education, FieldTurf and Liberty Landscapes – all three attempted to keep a member off of that board through the use of cease-and-desist letters and now alleged bribery,” LaChapelle said. “The Board of Education went on to spend our taxpayer dollars on a contract anyways. I think it is your purview as a board to look into that.”

Board of Finance member Timothy Vaillancourt, however, tied the latest allegations to a request by the BOE to change the town’s purchasing policy language to allow the town and BOE to contract with the Regional Education Service Center’s list of preferred vendors, rather than put everything out to bid through a request for proposal process, according to a June 4, 2024, memorandum by Shipman & Goodwin. 

Vaillancourt said the change was pitched to the BOF as necessary for fixing the HVAC system in the public schools and said he was assured it had nothing to do with the athletic fields, but the change was instead used to immediately contract with FieldTurf just two days after the BOF approved the change, and the day after it was approved by the BOE.

“This sucks. This stinks. I’m not going to talk about the specific allegations, but you better be on top of this because I’m not going to let this go,” Vaillancourt said. “This stinks. It’s stunk since the beginning. I’m not the only one who has brought this up and the chickens have come home to roost, and I hope you’re ready.” 

Dennler said during the BOF meeting that he was made aware of the allegations second-hand two weeks prior and, following a meeting with the person who made the allegation, consulted with counsel, and then went to the police. The meeting then descended into back-and-forth arguments between board members.

“I want to state clearly that the Town takes no position regarding the veracity of the allegation,” Dennler wrote in his November 12 email. “I encourage all officials to refrain from speculation or statements that could create liability for the Town or interfere with the ability of proper authorities to investigate this claim.”

“The project itself is an exciting opportunity for Colchester, and I believe everyone involved in bringing the project to fruition is focused on making it a success,” Dyjak wrote. “It is disappointing that the individual supposedly making this claim is detracting from what should be the real focus of your story.”

Superintendent Sullivan declined a request for comment, citing Dennler’s email. Requests for comment to Luke McCoy, and Liberty Landscaping were not returned.

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