The state Public Access Counselor issued an advisory opinion on Oct. 5 that two former members of the Hamilton East Public Library Board violated the state’s Open Door Law when they met in a coffee shop in August with representatives of the board’s former law firm.
A complaint about the meeting was filed by Fishers resident Sara Arbuckle and focused on a meeting between former HEPL President Laura Alerding, former board member Ray Maddalone and representatives of the board’s former law firm, Barnes & Thornburg.
Alerding’s appointed term on the board concluded at the end of August and she was not reappointed. Maddalone resigned from the board on Oct. 5, the day that the advisory opinion was released.
Public Access Counselor Luke Britt states that in her complaint, Arbuckle said she witnessed Alerding and Maddalone “sitting down with the board attorneys in a local coffee shop to discuss, among other things, the transition of the board president from her role and other officer positions going forward. Notably, Maddalone and Aldering constituted a majority of the HEPL Board’s ‘Nominating Committee.’”
In its response to the complaint, the board contends that the meeting was not an Open Door violation because the two members did not constitute a majority of the board, and that the discussion did not include Nominating Committee business.
In his opinion, Britt said that for various reasons, it is unlikely that the coffee shop discussion did not include at least some discussion related to Nominating Committee business.
“Consider the following: tensions on the board and in the community were exceedingly high in that moment,” Britt wrote. “Aldering’s ousting came just three days prior to the coffee shop meeting. Her official exit was to become effective the following week and the very next scheduled event was a Nominating Committee meeting where Maddalone and Aldering were to participate. The inference that the Nominating Committee conducted business on that day has not been overcome by HEPL’s summary denial. It may not have been the primary purpose of the meeting, and indeed other matters may have been discussed, but it would be naive for this office to conclude — based on the evidence provided — that the officer slate was not discussed. Even if the two board members were disciplined enough to avoid discussing the matter of officers, the mere existence of the meeting only served to fuel speculation and rumor.”
Britt states that it “strains credulity” that the purpose of the coffee-shop meeting was not at least in part to plan potential nominations.
“Based on the foregoing, it is the opinion of this office that the coffee shop meeting violated the Open Door Law,” Britt stated. “The gathering was subject to the (Open Door Law) because it constituted a majority of the HEPL Nominating Committee taking official action on public business. This office recommends the HEPL board and all related committees act in accordance with the law and this opinion going forward.”
In an emailed statement, new HEPL Board President Tiffanie Ditlevson said the board appreciates the opinion of the Public Access Counselor.
“The HEPL Board of Trustees will participate in a full day of training on (Oct. 16), to include Open Door Law training,” she stated. “We will ensure we will follow both the law and spirit of the law as we work to serve the entire HEPL community.”
