From the Smoky Mountain News (11/26/08): A private meeting has been scheduled between the N.C. Department of Transportation and elected leaders to discuss the controversial Southern Loop — a move that seems headed toward a violation of the N.C. Open Meetings Law.
County commissioners and town board members were invited to the privatemeeting by the DOT, which is in the planning stages of a hotly debatedhighway that would slice through Jackson County northeast of Sylva.
The public has not been notified of the meeting, which is requiredunder the N.C. Open Meetings Law, according to an attorney from theNorth Carolina Press Association.
The meeting will take place from 2 to 3 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4, in theRamsey Center Hospitality Room at Western Carolina University. Theprivate meeting will be followed by one for the public from 4 to 7 p.m.at the same place.
DOT Senior Public Information Officer Jamille A. Robbins said that theDOT does not want the public to attend the meeting intended for localofficials. Robbins said the meeting is an opportunity for the electedleaders to become informed about the road project so they will beprepared to answer constituents’ questions.
“We want to let the local officials to know first,” Robbins said.“We’re not hiding anything. You’re trying to make it sound like we’rehaving a clandestine meeting.”
However, Robbins said if members of the public showed up, they wouldn’tbe “turned around.” Robbins said DOT is not trying to do anything“underhanded” with the local officials’ meeting or it wouldn’t behaving the public workshop afterwards.
Robbins said he does not think the DOT is violating the Open Meetings Law.
North Carolina Press Association Attorney Mike Tadych agreed the DOT isnot violating the Open Meetings Law — but local officials will be ifthey don’t give public notice of the meeting. Tadych said an officialmeeting occurs when there is a simultaneous gathering of a majority ofa public board, other than a social setting.
“I think they would have to give notice,” Tadych said.
The majority of Jackson County commissioners say they plan on attendingthe meeting, according to a poll by The Smoky Mountain News.
Jackson County Commissioner Chairman Brian McMahan said he does notbelieve the commissioners will violate the Open Meetings Law if theyattend the meeting without announcing it.
“We didn’t call the meeting,” McMahan said. “It’s strictly a DOT meeting.”
McMahan said the commissioners will simply attend the meeting to getinformation, similar to when they attend Economic DevelopmentCommission meetings. However, EDC meetings are already announced to thepublic since it is a public entity in its own right, regardless ifcommissioners attend.
Even if the commissioners are attending the DOT meeting to merely listen, it should still be noticed to the public, Tadych said.
State law defines an “official meeting” as anytime the majority of a board gathers for a meeting pertaining to public business.
County Manager Ken Westmoreland said he doesn’t think the countycommissioners need to advertise that they will be attending the meeting.
“It’s not an official meeting from our standpoint,” Westmoreland said.“We’re not going to conduct business or take official action.”
But Westmoreland said to avoid the appearance of violating the OpenMeetings Law there will not be a majority of the county commissionersin the room at one time. That is standard practice for Jackson Countycommissioners in a meeting such as this, Westmoreland said.
But Tadych said even if there are two county commissioners in themeeting — although it technically isn’t a majority of the five personboard — it is still subject to public notice. The two commissioners inthe room would constitute a committee serving as an extension publicbody, Tadych said.
Westmoreland said he disagrees with that.
“This is not a committee meeting of any formal nature,” Westmoreland said.
County Commissioner William Shelton said the county is not going toviolate the Open Meetings Law. He agreed with Westmoreland that therewill not be more than two commissioners in the meeting room at a time.Shelton said two commissioners could go into the meeting and listen awhile and then two others could go in.
Westmoreland said he agrees that the DOT meeting “probably wasn’t arranged the best.”
“I admit DOT has not been very prudent,” Westmoreland said.
Other local officials were also invited to the meeting, according toRobbins, including the town boards of Sylva, Dillsboro, Webster andForest Hills.
The private meeting raised the ire of Franklin Town Alderman Bob Scott,who received an invitation to the meeting and tipped off The SmokyMountain News that it is taking place.
“My feeling is that it’s in violation of the Open Meetings Law,” Scottsaid. “I think it’s a little strange to have a meeting for electedofficials that the public is not invited to.”
The private meeting gives the appearance that DOT wants to tell thelocal officials something it doesn’t want to tell the public, he said.
What the law says
The argument over whether elected boards can attend a privatemeeting with the DOT to talk about the Southern Loop comes down towhether the meeting qualifies as an “official meeting.” Here’s how it’sdefined in state statute:
“’Official meeting’ means a meeting, assembly, or gatheringtogether at any time or place … of a majority of the members of apublic body for the purpose of conducting hearings, participating indeliberations, or voting upon or otherwise transacting the publicbusiness within the jurisdiction, real or apparent, of the public body.However, a social meeting or other informal assembly or gatheringtogether of the members of a public body does not constitute anofficial meeting unless called or held to evade the spirit and purposesof this Article.”
— N.C. 143-318.10-d.