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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-11-2007 Please ReviewPage 1 of 4 Andrea Lorenzo-luaces From: Anthony Garganese [agarganese@orlandolaw.net] Sent: Thursday, January 11, 2007 10:16 AM To: Debra Franklin; Andrea Lorenzo-luaces Cc: Donald Gilmore; Jan Palladino; John F. Bush; Joanne Krebs; Sally Mcginnis; Rick Brown; ROBERT MILLER; Sally McGinnis Subject: RE: Please review Debbie, Commissioner Brown raises a good point. Fortunately, we have addressed it already by City Commission policy. This email is in response to Commissioner Brown's inquiry. First, the Florida Attorney General has previously opined that the Sunshine Law does not prohibit city commissioners from attending homeowner's association meetings and commenting on association agenda items that may later come before the City Commission for final action. See AGO 00-68. However, the Attorney General noted that city commissioners attending association meetings should not discuss or debate agenda items among themselves. Id.; see also, AGO 98-79. In addition, the Attorney General has also opined that a school board member can attend a school board advisory committee meeting without prior notice of his or her attendance, but if it was known that two or more members of the school board members were planning to attend the meeting and participate, the Attorney General said that it would be advisable for the school board to note their attendance in the agenda of the advisory committee. AGO 99-55. However, it is noteworthy that AGO 99-55 addresses another school board committee which the school board controlled the posting of the committee meeting notice. If you recall, the issue of posting notice to notify the public that members of the city commission may be in attendance at meetings and public forums was comprehensively addressed last year by Resolution 2006-25. Relevant to Commissioner Brown's inquiry, I want to draw your attention to Section 3(C). Section 3(C) provides: With respect to other community forums sponsored by a private organization or some other government entity, board or group that is open to the public the city clerk shall post a notice of the upcominq community forum on the bulletin board in the lobby at city hall if the city clerk has been informed by the Mayor and/or one or more members of the city commission that at least two of them will be in attendance at the community forum. The courtesy notice shall state the name date location and time of the community forum, an agenda (if available) and substantially the following notice: Please be advised that the Mayor and/or one (1) or more Members of the City Commission and/or Members of any of the City's Advisory Boards and Committees may be in attendance at this Meeting, and may participate in discussions For purposes of this subparagraph (C) community forums may include candidate nights sponsored by a private organization, forums and meetings of CALNO and the League of Cities public forums of government and private organizations joint planning meetings of selected government officials and other open forums where issues of general public concern to the city may be discussed in public Therefore, given the points raised by Commissioner Brown and pursuant to Resolution 2006-25, the City Clerk is authorized, and moreover required, to post notice of the Tuscawilla Homeowner's Association meeting when the City Clerk has been informed that the Mayor and/or one or more members of the city commission will be in attendance when issues of city concern are being discussed. Given one of the commissioners serves on the Tuscawilla Homeowner's Association's board of directors and other members of the commission and Mayor are members of the association, it appears that one or more commissioners will be in attendance at Tuscawilla homeowner's association meetings for the foreseeable future. Therefore, you may also want to post all future meetings for the foreseeable future pursuant to Section 3(C) above. Lastly, Commissioner Brown and the other Commissioners should be advised, however, that they should refrain from discussing or debating association agenda items among themselves. See AGO 00-68. Open forum Page 2 of 4 discussions and debate during the actual meeting that can be heard by all the meeting attendees are apparently permissible based on the opinion of the Attorney General. I trust this answers your question. Also, you may want to provide a copy of Resolution 2006-25 to Commissioner Brown since it is already a standing City Commission policy. Anthony Anthony Garganese 225 East Robinson Street, Suite 660 P.O. Box 2873 Orlando, Florida 32802-2873 Phone (407) 425-9566 Fax (407) 425-9596 Kissimmee (321) 402-0144 Cocoa & Viera (866) 425-9566 Website: www.orlandolaw.net Email: agarganese@orlandolaw.net Any incoming e-mail reply to this communication will be electronically filtered for "spam" and/or "viruses." That filtering process may result in such reply being quarantined (i.e., potentially not received at our site at all) and/or delayed in reaching us. For that reason, we may not receive your reply and/or we may not receive it in a timely manner. Accordingly, you should consider sending communications to us which are particularly important or time -sensitive by means other than e-mail. Confidentiality Note: This e-mail, and any attachment to it, contains privileged and confidential information intended only for the use of the individual(s) or entity named on the e-mail. If the reader of this e-mail is not the intended recipient, or the employee or agent responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that reading it is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately return it to the sender and delete it from your system. Thank you. From: Debra Franklin [mailto:dbfranklin@winterspringsfl.org] Sent: Wednesday, January 10, 2007 1:06 PM To: Anthony Garganese Subject: Please review...... Anthony — Page 3 of 4 Andrea is out this afternoon — would you please advise if i need to post an Agenda for the Meeting mentioned in Commissioner Brown's email below. Thank you, Debbie Franklin From: Rick Brown [mailto:rick@rick-brown.com] Sent: Wednesday, January 10, 2007 11:04 AM To: Andrea Lorenzo-luaces Cc: Rick Brown Subject: THOA Meetings Hi Andrea, Something struck me last night as I was planning my agenda for the week Tomorrow night is the THOA Board meeting. We have a sitting commissioner on that body as a board member, I am a dues paying member and entitled to attend any meeting of the board or membership; we have a mayor and city manager who are residents of Tuskawilla as well as many city board members. At these meetings, routinely, topics are discussed that will come before the city commission at some time; i.e., Dyson Drive, The Cell Tower, The Flag Pole Issue, Beautification Issues as in the lighting and sign improvements , development Issues such as the Northern Way and Winter Springs Blvd development, etc. It seems to me that with the potential for so many city officials to be present at meetings where city business will certainly be discussed that affects a limited number of citizens we really need to be advertising these meetings to keep ourselves clean. It is unfair to our citizens and potentially a sunshine violation not to isn't it? Please let me know what you think or discuss it with Anthony, but I think we have a hole here. Thanks Rick Thank you, Debbie Franklin CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS DEPUTY CITY CLERK dbtrankikewirftnongstaq 1126 East S.R. 434 OFIRKt : 4 WINTEI4 SiFUNOS, FL 32700 FA) (44 Confidentiality Note: This e-mail, and any attachment to it, contains information intended only for the use of the individual(s) or entity named on the e-mail. If the reader of this e-mail is not the intended recipient, or the employee or agent responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, you are hereby Page 4 of 4 notified that reading it is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately return it to the sender and delete it from your system. Thank you.