Judge dismisses all but one count of open meetings violations alleged against Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission

A judge has thrown out 50 of the 51 counts alleging open meetings violations against Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission (UERPC), which maintains offices in Decorah and Postville.
The Commission had filed a motion with the court, asking for dismissal of all counts. Plaintiffs in the case are the City of Postville and Jason Meyer, owner/publisher of The Postville Herald newspaper.
Judge Thomas A. Bitter of the First Judicial District of Iowa handed down the ruling Thursday, February 9. The judge also ruled that a trial be held on the remaining count, which alleges UERPC “purposefully” prevented the public from having access at a meeting.
The case originated from a September 23, 2010 meeting in which Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission met to consider whether to buy a building in Decorah to alleviate the overcrowding at the organization's Postville offices.
At that meeting, which included members of the public and a representative from the Postville newspaper, a lengthy discussion was held before a motion was made to buy the property in Decorah, which had been determined to be the most viable of all possible northeast Iowa sites reviewed. The Commission unanimously agreed to a paper ballot vote. Each member cast ballots and the ballots were counted, showing 10 in favor of buying the property and six opposed.
October 18, 2010, the plaintiffs obtained an injunction prohibiting the Commission from entering into a contract for the purchase of real property in Decorah. A hearing on that motion was held October 25 and the court issued a ruling stating that the Commission was enjoined from purchasing the property based on the September 23 vote, but that the court could not prohibit the Commission from holding future meetings on the issue.
At a meeting in October 2010, the Commission voted to “table” the issue for 30 days to consider all options for expansion, and November 30, 2010, the Commission met and voted to purchase the Decorah property.
January 19, 2011, the plaintiffs filed an amended petition alleging 51 separate violations of Iowa’s Open Meetings Laws dating as far back as 1999. The allegations stated that agendas were not posted properly and that Upper Explorerland did not properly publish the names and salaries of the commission members for the years 1999 through 2009.
Judge Bitter’s ruling states the Commission properly posted the agendas on its bulletin board, and also that it properly published names and salaries in the Oelwein Daily Register. Plaintiffs alleged that the Oelwein Daily Register is not a “newspaper of general circulation” because it doesn’t serve the entirety of the Commission area.
The remaining count allowed involves the November 30, 2010 meeting in which some members of the public were required to stand in the hallway outside the meeting room because the room was not large enough to accommodate all attendees. Plaintiff Jason Meyer contended that "Access was not provided to the public. The Commission reserved seats for its employees in the Commission chambers, thereby forcing the public to stand out in the hallway away from the meeting, not being able to hear, to comment, when it was time to comment."
Judge Bitter decided that a factual determination needs to be made at trial concerning this allegation. “This is a disputed factual issue,” the judge wrote in his decision. "Defendants would not be exempt from such claim in the act is found to involve intentional misconduct, as has been alleged."
Meyer commented on the judge's ruling, stating that he finds it to be "unfortunate, not for our sake as the plaintiffs, but for what it represents."
"My intent as an individual and our intent as the City of Postville, however distorted it may have been portrayed, was to hold the Board of the Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission, a governmental agency, to the open standards expected of our government," Meyer further explained. "If this ruling is allowed to stand with the dismissal of these counts, it could effectively remove the teeth of the Sunshine Laws, removing any fear of reprisal, allowing governmental boards and committees to operate with little regard for the public trust."
Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission provided an initial press release in regard to the ruling. Commission Chairman Randy Uhl of Decorah explained that counsel representing UERPC has advised that no further comments be made on the ruling at this time.
A date for the trial on that lone remaining count allowed from the ruling has not yet been set. The trial will be held in Allamakee County.