2/18/10
The Gov. Stoughton Trust Land Committee has voted to make all of its executive-session meeting minutes available to the public. Although the committee studying the Town Farm had disbanded last fall after having submitted a final recommendation report to Selectmen, committee members met one final time Feb. 9 to make public closed-door meeting minutes. The committee was ordered by the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office to turn over notes from its meetings after it was ruled the committee violated the Open Meeting Law. According to the ruling, handed down Jan. 11, the committee violated the Open Meeting Law by discussing business by e-mail, meeting in facilities inadequate for the attending public, holding executive sessions for improper purposes and failing to maintain meeting minutes. It was ordered that the committee make public all of its executive session minutes within 30 days.
During meetings throughout last year, the committee had repeatedly voted to enter into executive session for the purpose of discussing real estate value. Some residents objected to that practice, accusing the committee of hiding things. Resident John Hajjar made the complaint to the DA’s office last October.
Town Planner Bill Clark, who was responsible for keeping the meeting minutes, said they will be made available in hard copy at the library and at his office at Town Hall.
In a follow-up interview with the Times, Clark defended the committee’s deliberations.
“[The DA’s office] made a decision, and that’s fine. It is what it is,” he said.
Clark took issue with the ruling that the committee met in rooms with inadequate space. On one occasion, he said, a meeting was held in a small conference room at Town Hall.
“Two people showed up [to that meeting]. Other boards meet in that room on a regular basis,” he said.
Regarding the ruling involving improper e-mail deliberations, Clark said he had instructed committee members to e-mail him directly with edits they had to the report as it was being finalized. On a couple of occasions, he added, one committee member addressed e-mails to the whole committee.
The committee’s e-mail discussions are included in the now-public document.
However, not included is an appraisal report, which Clark said the final report recommending a $5 million endowment and preservation of the Town Farm was “crafted around.”
He said the appraisal was turned over to Selectmen, as trustees, and it is their decision whether to make the appraisal public.
“The [Gov. Stoughton] committee felt the report should go public. But it’s up to the Selectmen. They gave it to the Selectmen,” he said.
Much of what is included in the executive session minutes references the appraisal report, but no details of it are mentioned.
Selectmen plan to discuss the matter at their Feb. 18 meeting.
“We haven’t had an open meeting of the Gov. Stoughton Board of Trustees yet, so I can’t speak for the other trustees, but it would be my wish that we publish this information,” Selectman Kathy Fagan said in an e-mail. “As this present appraisal is merely a snapshot of the present value in this present market, and there are no negotiations of any kind expected to occur anytime soon, I feel we can and should publish this particular piece of information without violating any fiduciary responsibilities we hold as trustees.”
Bob Sweeney, who served as co-chair during the Gov. Stoughton committee’s two years of work, said the DA’s ruling was “correct” and it puts a “cloud” on the committee’s recommendation.
“I regret that last September my colleagues rebuffed my comments in executive session when I said that the committee was violating the Open Meeting Law,” he said. “This is not the first such time that a Milton governmental body has violated the Open Meeting Law. It’s my hope that the other elected boards and appointed committees in town will learn from this ruling, and will endeavor to make sure that e-mails are not used to skip deliberations, and that executive sessions can only be held for a very narrow specific reason.”
Clark said the committee’s executive-session minutes will be posted on the town’s Web Site, www.townofmilton.org, by Feb. 18. To access the document, go to “Board of Selectmen” and scroll down to the Gov. Stoughton committee link.

– Scott MacKeen