Minutes 04-13-04MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY WORKSHOP
MEETING ON PUBLIC RECORDS AND SUNSHINE LAWS
HELD IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, ON TUESDAY,
APRIL 13, 2004 AT 6:00 P.M.
Present:
Jeanne Heavilin, Chair
Henderson Tillman, Vice Chair
James Barretta
Alexander DeMarco
Don Fenton
Larry Finkelstein
Charlie Fisher
Douglas Hutchinson, CRA
Director
Lindsey Payne, Board Attorney
I. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Heavilin called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
I1. ROLL CALL
The Recording Secretary called the roll and declared that a quorum was present.
III. OPENING REMARKS
Chair Heavilin stated that the purpose of the workshop was to review the
Sunshine and Public Record laws.
V. PUBLIC RECORDS & SUNSHI~NE LAW
Board Attorney Payne distributed a notebook containing information about the
Sunshine Law, the Public Records Laws, how the CRA works, how it was created,
State law pertaining to CRAs, and all the local City ordinances pertaining to the
CRA. She reviewed this information for the Board.
In regard to the Public Records Law, Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes, Board
Attorney Payne stated that any document that is created for CRA purposes is
public record and must be kept and produced on request. In response to a
question of who was responsible for saving it, Board Attorney Payne responded
that this was done in the administrative office of the CRA.
Mr. Hutchinson stated that he maintains a catalog in his office of all the
memorandums sent "For Your Information" to the Board members.
Meeting Minutes
CRA Workshop on Sunshine and Public Records Laws
Boynton Beach, Florida
April 13, 2004
He also responds to City requests to archive his E-mail and this is done without any
editing, across the board.
Board Attorney Payne stated that for example, it would be acceptable if Mr. Hutchinson
sent an E-mail to a Board member and copied the rest of the Board; however, if one of
the Board members responded to all the other Board members, that would be a
problem. The same would be true if one of the Board members contacted the Director
to discuss an issue via E-mail and copied the other Board members. Board Attorney
Payne stated that it was important not to select "Reply All."
Mr. DeMarco mentioned that there were two CRA members on the Chamber of
Commerce Government Affairs and Economic Development Committees. He asked
whether the City or the State had any issue with this involvement because CRA and City
government topics were sometimes discussed. Chair Heavilin stated that the Board had
asked this question years ago and the legal opinion at that time was that as long as one
of the two participants recused him or herself, it would be acceptable to participate.
Board Attorney Payne stated that while one of the Board members could participate,
technically, there could still be a conflict if the Chamber were engaged in developing a
position about a CRA issue that could come before the Board.
Mr. DeMarco inquired whether he should leave the room if such a discussion took place.
Board Attorney Payne said he should definitely not participate if the discussion was
about something that would be coming before the CRA. However, recording the
meeting, or the portion that dealt with CRA issues, could be done to provide a public
record and allow the Board members to voice their opinion. Also, as an additional
precautionary measure, if two or more CRA Board members regularly attend a meeting,
the Chamber should post it and note that two or more CRA Board members might be
present.
Board Attorney Payne noted that Board members could discuss CRA business with the
Director or with the Board Attorney, but that any two Board members should not
discuss a pending CRA topic with each other outside the regular scheduled public
meeting. She pointed out that this did not preclude the Board members from engaging
in normal or casual conversation about non-CRA related matters.
During discussion, the topic of "calendaring" came up, where the Board members try to
determine a mutually agreeable date to hold a meeting. Board Attorney Payne stated
that contact between the Board members that was aimed at establishing a date would
be acceptable, but a discussion of the agenda would not.
Mr. DeMarco asked to have the minutes of this meeting checked by someone involved
with State law to determine if there is anything contained in them that they may
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Meeting Minutes
CRA Workshop on Sunshine and Public Records Laws
Boynton Beach, Florida
April 13, 2004
question. Board Attorney Payne asked Mr. DeMarco to expand on what he meant by
this. He stated that while the Board might be comfortable that they were doing the
right thing, having the minutes checked by the State Attorney's office would assure
them that they were on the right track. Board Attorney Payne offered to ask them if
they would do this. Several Board members commented that the Board employed
Board Attorney Payne for the purpose of legal advice. Board Attorney Payne stated that
when she has a question about any law, she consults the Attorney General's Office.
Board Attorney Payne ended the review with the Ethics Law 1:[2 of the Florida Statutes
that deals with voting conflicts, the gift laws, and items of this nature.
The Board thanked Board Attorney Payne for her informative presentation and for
compiling such a useful document.
Vt'. AD.1OURNMENT
Since the business was concluded, the meeting was duly adjourned at 6:29 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Collins
Recording Secretary
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