Spokane7
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May 23, 2010 in City
Unofficial meetings generate contention
The Spokane Valley City Council’s new majority started off its term in office by possibly violating the Open Public Meetings Act, meeting for coffee every day at a local grocery store. One veteran council member said she believes the group is still discussing city business in secret.
“Decisions are made before they come to the meeting,” Councilwoman Rose Dempsey said. “I’m certain of that.”
Dempsey attended one of those early coffee meetings at which there was briefly a quorum of council members present. A gathering at which a quorum of council members is present is considered a public meeting and, by state law, must be advertised at least 24 hours in advance.
Councilman Dean Grafos, Councilwoman Brenda Grassel and Mayor Tom Towey said city business was not being discussed at the coffee meetings. But during one such gathering, Grassel met with Towey and Councilman Bob McCaslin at the grocery store and said she needed to “touch base with Tom about the agenda for tonight.”
It’s a violation of the state’s Open Public Meetings Act for two or three council members to discuss an issue, then contact other City Council members to relay the substance of the discussion and get input, Washington’s open-government ombudsman said in January. “It doesn’t matter that it’s not simultaneous,” said Tim Ford of the state attorney general’s office. Even participating in an e-mail discussion could violate the act, he said.
Dempsey said she believes those types of discussions are going on now. “You have serial meetings going on,” she said. “The same things are talked about.”
Dempsey said McCaslin, who is a longtime state legislator, has told the other council members that such discussions are legal even though her own research has shown that they are not.
“He tells the others it’s OK,” she said. “He’s tried to tell me it’s OK.”
She said that during a short break in a recent council meeting, as she walked past Grassel, Grafos and McCaslin, McCaslin stopped her and she was asked by Grassel if she would provide the fourth vote to kill the Broadway Avenue Safety Project that was approved by the previous council.
“It didn’t happen publicly,” Dempsey said. “I just stepped back and said, ‘Whoa. This has to happen in public.’ ”
McCaslin has been hospitalized for more than a week and was unavailable for comment. Both Grafos and Grassel, however, deny that anything improper took place.
“I had my back to Dean and Bob,” Grassel said. “They were not in that circle. It was solely me.”
Grassel said she simply asked Dempsey if she would consider a motion to kill the project. “I asked her, ‘If I put forward a motion, is that something you would consider?’ ” Grassel said. “I wasn’t collecting votes. If she took it the wrong way, I didn’t realize that.”
Grassel challenged Dempsey to provide evidence of her allegations that the council majority is holding improper gatherings. “I think at this point I would call that a conspiracy theory,” she said.
Grafos also denied that such meetings are taking place, saying, “I think Rose is a little bit paranoid. I think she is probably disappointed that she wasn’t picked as mayor. I am not having serial meetings with other council members.”
Grafos chided Dempsey and Councilman Bill Gothmann – the two members who are not part of the “Positive Change” platform on which the other five were elected – for not focusing on the issues facing citizens. “Bill and Rose have elected to make Dean Grafos the issue,” he said.
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CalJones on May 23 at 7:29 a.m.
More of the same from the Spokesman Review. Let’s let the Council actually work!!!! Stop with the conspiracy theories, this is supposed to be a mainstream paper???
Ninch on May 23 at 7:50 a.m.
NOT a conspiracy theory. These council members are violating the Open Public Meetings Act… no question about it. They should have already been trained on such transparency and ethics issues when first in office. If they choose to ignore Washington State Law they will fined. But then again they can still meet if they publish a public notice that this is a regular meeting open to the public.
Why anyone would defend elected officials who flaunt public laws, (especially laws that ensure the public’s right to know) is beyond comprehension.
Msgeo on May 23 at 10:20 a.m.
Rose is NOT paranoid - the new city council cannot continue to act like they dont know what they are doing is wrong. They have been informed of the law and are still choosing to think of themselves as outside of those requirements.
Grafos is the issue - beyond the fact that he has freely voiced his contempt for the City and his desire to disband it - he has continually and publically harassed anyone who does not cowtow to his narrow and self-serving point of view; and then he has to gall to cry foul.
It is about time the paper has started to call these not so positive changers out and report the actions of this group of five. Prior to the election of this new council there was disagreement but it was done with respect and consideration and with the realization that there are lots of points of view and no one person is right - that is why there are seven on the council.
Council members cannot just represent a small portion of the community. They have an obligation to represent everyone in the community and go beyond their personal desires to look at what is best for everyone. You will never please everyone but you have to try to do what is best for the majority. It is up to the citizens of this community to voice their dissatisfaction with the way this group has acted by voting them out of office.
SugarShane on May 23 at 10:51 a.m.
Funny how elected officials and cops feel that laws of the state do not apply to them, that they can pick and choose which laws they want to follow and which to simply ignore.