Sleepy Hollow trustee claims village violated open records law again

After finding Sleepy Hollow in violation of the Open Meetings Act last month, the attorney general's office is investigating another complaint filed against the village by Trustee Tom Merkel.

The public access bureau determined July 11 the village board failed to comply with the open records law during five separate closed-session discussions pertaining to a cellphone tower, according to a letter from supervising attorney Joshua Jones.

The investigation was prompted by a request for review filed by Merkel in March, before he became a trustee. Merkel, an opponent of the 125-foot-tall cell tower expected to be built behind village hall, has pushed for the village to be more transparent about negotiations with telecommunications company National Wireless Ventures.

"I feel vindicated," said Merkel, who was elected as a write-in candidate in April. "I think it shows they were clearly out of line with what they were doing."

Village President Stephan Pickett said he never received a formal ruling from the attorney general's office, though Jones' letter is addressed to him and Merkel.

Closed-session conversations strayed outside the permitted topic of a cell tower leasing price in five meetings between March 2016 and February 2017, the attorney general's office said. Trustees did not, however, take improper action during the sessions.

Trustees had already voted to release minutes for the executive sessions in question the week before the office made its final determination, records show. Pickett says officials twice a year review closed-session discussions and determine which should be released as public record.

After hearing from the attorney general's office on his first complaint, Merkel filed another request for review alleging the village did not disclose on its June 19 agenda that a vote would be taken on a cell tower update.

During that meeting, National Wireless representatives requested modifying the terms of a lease agreement that had already been approved by the village, Pickett said in a response to the public access bureau. After much discussion, he said, trustees voted to amend a rent accelerator clause of the lease.

"Update/discussion" was the listed agenda item regarding the lease of village-owned property.

"That's a violation of the OMA," Merkel said. "You're supposed to be pretty specific when you're going to vote on something. ... I feel like they just slipped it through."

Pickett argues the wording of the agenda and the "substantial discussion" in open session were sufficient enough to permit a final vote.

The attorney general's office has yet to rule on that.