MARBLEHEAD — The selectmen are reacting angrily to rumors that they imposed roadblocks that prevented a needy local family from receiving help from ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."
To argue their case, the board is inviting anyone with concerns to their next meeting on May 28, when the issue will be center stage.
"There are a lot of rumors and innuendo going around that is mostly untrue," said Selectman Jackie Belf-Becker, who notes that she's been stopped on the street and asked about the situation.
The controversy revolves around recent efforts to qualify the Gilligan family for the "Extreme Makeover" program, which builds or remodels houses for deserving families, such as those with acute medical difficulties.
Amy and Patrick Gilligan have four children. Three of them have problems, including Jackson, 10, who is autistic; Karlyn, 7, who has cystic fibrosis; and Allison, 6, who had a liver transplant, with her dad donating part of his liver.
The upgrade of the family's home was sorely needed, according to family friend Kelley Keaney, so much so that she's organized an effort to get ABC to come back to Massachusetts and give the Gilligans a second look. She's started a Web site looking for support. But in an e-mail that eventually reached the selectmen's office at Abbot Hall, she more than implies that the family was first rejected because of the town's leaders.
"The town of Marblehead threw up some road blocks and the much-needed home makeover went to another deserving Massachusetts family," she wrote. "All the excuses MH selectmen have given have been taken care of. ... Money has been raised for the permit fees that MH was not willing to waive. ... These kids talked to Extreme Home Makeover about what kind of rooms they wanted. Then Marblehead was unwilling to bend."
The Gilligans took the news philosophically, according to Keaney. "If you ask Amy and Pat about it they would say, 'A very deserving family from Maynard was chosen to represent Massachusetts,'" she wrote.
"We voted unanimously to allow them to do it," Selectman Judy Jacobi said yesterday. "We voted in open session."
The vote came on June 20, 2007, when Andrew Harrison of Lock and Key Productions attended a selectmen's meeting. Members were told not to mention his connection to "Extreme Makeover."
"We were told if we used the name 'Extreme Makeover' it would jeopardize the family's chances," Jacobi said.
Because of that, Belf-Becker said, "We couldn't go out and look for volunteers."
The board gave three conditions for its approval:
r That the program not cost the town any money. "We did what we could to protect the interests of the taxpayer," Belf-Becker said.
r That the production company take all appropriate measures in the interest of safety, including traffic safety and fire safety. "We were told we could expect 10,000 people would be coming to town," Jacobi said.
r And that building permit fees be paid. That decision was made, said Town Administrator Tony Sasso, after consultation with Town Counsel Lisa Mead. "The selectmen were advised by counsel that they haven't the right to waive the building permit fees."
Subsequent to ABC's decision to choose a Maynard family for their program (which ran last Sunday night), they wrote a letter to the selectmen thanking them for their cooperation. "If they're thanking us for the assistance," Sasso said, "why would they do that if we're throwing up roadblocks?"
Keaney did not return a phone call from The Salem News.
"I feel really bad that this is being blown up in a negative way," Belf-Becker said. "Why wouldn't we have wanted it to happen? To help this family? But we had to be responsible to the town."
