Stonington — Director of Public Works Barbara McKrell has filed a harassment complaint with the town, which in turn has alerted Selectman Michael Spellman, Board of Education Chairman Frank Todisco, school board member Alisa Morrison and resident Cynthia DeCesare that they will need to be interviewed.

The four have said the town has refused to give them a copy of the complaint so they do not know if they are being accused of some type of wrongdoing or are witnesses.

So far, none of the four has agreed to be interviewed by the town’s Director of Administrative Services Vincent Pacileo.

The town also has not responded to a June 25 Freedom of Information request from The Day for a copy of McKrell’s complaint even though state law requires a response within four business days.

Over the past month, the four people who received the letter from Pacileo have raised questions or passed on complaints they have received from residents about the use of pesticides on the high school athletic fields.

It is unknown if that is the subject of McKrell’s complaint.

The four all told The Day that they have had little interaction with McKrell, who was hired by former first selectman Ed Haberek in February of 2014.

In his June 25 email to the four, Pacileo wrote “that he was in receipt of a complaint by a Town of Stonington employee alleging a violation of the Town’s Harassment and Equal Employment Opportunities policies as defined in the Town of Stonington Employee Policy Handbook. As part of my duties as Compliance Director, I will need to interview you.”

He then asked them to contact a town hall employee to set up a meeting time. McKrell did not respond to an email Wednesday seeking comment.

Spellman referred comment to his attorney Michael Lynch of Westerly, who said Wednesday that he is seeking specific information from the town, such as the authority a town administrator has over elected officials, the specific nature of the complaint and Spellman’s alleged role.

Morrison and Todisco said they have consulted school board attorney Nicholas Grello about the issue.

“I’m dismayed the town is spending money on this complaint. I’m concerned the town is wasting money on legal fees when it could have been handled in a different manner,” she said.

Morrison said she had been contacted by a resident who had concerns about the pesticides and she forwarded those on to School Business Manager Bill King.

The Public Works Department shares maintenance responsibilities for the fields with the school system.

Todisco said that he had not responded to Pacileo’s request and was awaiting further information about the complaint. He added that he has never had a conversation or an e-mail exchange with McKrell.

DeCesare — whose husband, Lou, was fired by McKrell from his job as highway supervisor in April — said Wednesday she expressed concerns about pesticide use at two recent Board of Selectmen meetings but her comments had nothing to do with McKrell or her job performance.

“I’m in the dark about the actual complaint. I can only assume it’s related to the pesticides,” said DeCesare, who said she also has consulted an attorney.

j.wojtas@theday.com

Twitter: @joewojtas