“Discussion of initiation of litigation . . .” topic of executive session

UPDATED April 22: Monday night the Greenwood Common Council, White River Township Board and members of the Reorganization Committee met in executive session (Indiana Executive Session code here). A brief agenda was released that indicated the meeting concerned the “Discussion of initiation of litigation. . .” (a copy of the agenda we received is at the end of this article).

When I arrived at the Greenwood Town Hall just before 6 p.m. a members where arriving including White River Township Trustee Jay Marks. Shortly after the meeting began Mr. Marks walked out and commented “I am not being part of this. I also told the two White River Township board members in attendance that one of them should leave since the meeting is illegal since the notice was not properly posted.”  According to Mr. Marks the meeting notice was posted at 7:04pm on Thursday. He issued no further statements concerning the events of the meeting. (Board chair Mark Messick confirmed later Monday evening that he had a conflict and could not attend.)

Was Mr. Marks correct, was the meeting not properly posted? Indiana Code requires public meeting notices to be posted 48 hours in advance not counting Saturday, Sunday and legal holidays (Indiana Public Meeting Code here). Was the meeting out of order due to a failure to meet the state code? Technically yes, but only by one hour and four minutes. Notice of the meeting must be posted at the White River Township offices and were not posted until 7:04 on Thursday night, one hour and four minutes late. Mr. Marks stated that Paul Maurer witnessed the notice being delivered and being posted at the time stated. (view close-up of notice date | view notice posted at WRT office).

UPDATED INFORMATION: Mr. Marks did report that a notice of the meeting was emailed to him Wednesday evening. The email stated that “with the assistance of De Lane [Reorganization Committee Administrative Assistant] we have posted notices to all required buildings”. After reading the message that the notice postings were being handled, Mr. Marks did not post the notice until it was delivered to him by De Lane on Thursday evening. Then there is the question of where the notice must be posted. According to the Indiana Code public meeting notices must be made by ” posting a copy of the notice at the principal office of the public agency holding the meeting”, since this was a “Joint Executive Session” of the three entities it would appear to mean that notice must be posted at both the Greenwood City Building and the White River Township office.  On Wednesday I was notified that the governmental bodies disagree with that view. If that position is wrong then why did the email say the notice was being posted at “all required buildings” and then De Lane comes to the WRT building to post it?

More important than nitpicking over meeting the notice  is who is suing whom? Greenwood has already taken legal action against Bargersville for a proposed annexation of land along State Road 135, that action does not include the WRT board or the reorganization committee. So why meet in executive session with litigation on the agenda?  Bargersville has recently begun consensual annexation of areas along SR 144 (see article here) this includes areas planned to be in the White River Township reorganization effort. Based on legal opinions and those of consultants we have obtained, the Bargersville annexation action, since it started before the reorganization plan was completed and approved, would prevent that area from being included in the reorganization plan. Of course legal opinions differ and that often leads to lawsuits. What was going on in the closed door executive session Monday night? Speculation on my part, and it is just speculation, is that the three entities where looking for a way to file legal action to stop the Bargersville annexation effort. Since the area is outside of the Greenwood buffer zone Greenwood has no standing to take legal action. However the area is within unincorporated White River Township and in the area under study for reorganization. Does the WRT board and the reorganization committee have standing to take legal action to stop the voluntary annexation, I don’t know. Based on all I have seen covering this issue my guess is that more litigation is in the air.

Executive Session Agenda: April 20, 2009

A. Discussion of initiation of litigation or litigation that is either pending or has been threatened specifically in writing pursuant to I.C. 5-14-1.5-6.1(b)(2)(B).

B. Adjournment.

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