GLA Board Demands that The Forum Remove Official Minutes
May 26, 2016 19:59:05 GMT -7
chris and zorro like this
Post by Admin on May 26, 2016 19:59:05 GMT -7
GLA Board Demands that The Forum Remove Official Minutes
The Forum just received a demand letter via email from the GLA Board Communications Committee. For over a year the GLA Board has provided minutes of Board and Committee meetings to landowners as required by Montana State law. Only 62 landowners who are on GLA email list are able to receive minutes. The vast majority of landowners do not get them and they are not posted on the official GLA website. Therefore, we posted the copies provided to us, on the Forum so all landowners may read them. Curiously the GLA Board believes that the Minutes, a document required by law and electronically copied to 62 landowners, should not be copied and should remain confidential. The GLA Board meetings are open to the public and non-landowners are often in attendance. Thus the business of the GLA Board as depicted in the official Minutes is already public knowledge. Potential landowners also have a right to know what the GLA Board is doing before they decide to purchase land here.
The Forum is a public web site and the GLA Board members are welcome to post comments on any topic. The Forum is protected by the First Amendment to the US Constitution. We are dedicated to providing readers with accurate and timely information. Part of the GLA Board section of the Forum is a reference library of official GLA Board documents that have been released to landowners since 2004. The GLA Board Bylaws state that all landowners have a right to inspect the records of the GLA which includes minutes. No confidentiality agreement is required to inspect records and there is no prohibition about what a landowner may do with that information.
We are committed to the law of the land and our readers. If the GLA Board can show us that we are in violation of any community, local, state or federal laws we will seek counsel and abide by the law. Otherwise we will not remove any Minutes or other official documents that the GLA has created, copied and distributed. To do so would allow the GLA Board to escape public accountability and would compromise the integrity of the Forum.
A copy of the letter we received is posted below so you may read and comment.
May 26, 2016
Re: Confidential Meeting minutes on your Forum Website
Dear Tim,
We are aware that you have posted confidential GLA committee meeting minutes on your Glastonbury Community Forum. The meeting minutes are clearly marked ‘Confidential Do Not copy’ on the header. Your Forum states that these minutes are ‘Courtesy of the GLA Board.’ The GLA Board has never given you permission to post these confidential minutes on a public website. The GLA Board has provided the minutes to you personally and will provide them to any other landowner who requests them from the Board.
You must remove all confidential meeting minutes immediately from the Glastonbury Community Forum. We expect to see all confidential meeting minutes removed by June 1, 2016. If you desire to do a service for the landowners you could refer members to request the official meeting minutes by contacting the GLA Board at info@glamontana.org.
Thank you for your compliance in removing the minutes from your website.
The Communications Committee
The Forum is a public web site and the GLA Board members are welcome to post comments on any topic. The Forum is protected by the First Amendment to the US Constitution. We are dedicated to providing readers with accurate and timely information. Part of the GLA Board section of the Forum is a reference library of official GLA Board documents that have been released to landowners since 2004. The GLA Board Bylaws state that all landowners have a right to inspect the records of the GLA which includes minutes. No confidentiality agreement is required to inspect records and there is no prohibition about what a landowner may do with that information.
We are committed to the law of the land and our readers. If the GLA Board can show us that we are in violation of any community, local, state or federal laws we will seek counsel and abide by the law. Otherwise we will not remove any Minutes or other official documents that the GLA has created, copied and distributed. To do so would allow the GLA Board to escape public accountability and would compromise the integrity of the Forum.
A copy of the letter we received is posted below so you may read and comment.
May 26, 2016
Re: Confidential Meeting minutes on your Forum Website
Dear Tim,
We are aware that you have posted confidential GLA committee meeting minutes on your Glastonbury Community Forum. The meeting minutes are clearly marked ‘Confidential Do Not copy’ on the header. Your Forum states that these minutes are ‘Courtesy of the GLA Board.’ The GLA Board has never given you permission to post these confidential minutes on a public website. The GLA Board has provided the minutes to you personally and will provide them to any other landowner who requests them from the Board.
You must remove all confidential meeting minutes immediately from the Glastonbury Community Forum. We expect to see all confidential meeting minutes removed by June 1, 2016. If you desire to do a service for the landowners you could refer members to request the official meeting minutes by contacting the GLA Board at info@glamontana.org.
Thank you for your compliance in removing the minutes from your website.
The Communications Committee
