Private is public

In county business

It did this ol’ heart good to see Dan Holtmeyer’s story the other day about how all members of the Washington County Quorum Court and County Judge Marilyn Edwards had been asked under the Freedom of Information Act for all their emails, texts and voicemails shared among them in this most recent term.

The request appears to have been triggered by Justice of the Peace Ann Harbison and county employees who’ve expressed concerns whether justices have been communicating privately on public matters during and after meetings. That’s a no-no in elected public offices.

Whether the request by this newspaper reveals any violations remains to be seen. But it sure appeared to have caused a fair amount of puckering among some of the elected officials. Some even bypassed County Attorney Steve Zega and sought advice from Springdale attorney David Nixon to explain in simple terms just what they had to turn over. Nixon told Zega his role was to answer questions and review responses to make certain they were, well … responsive.

And Nixon’s role prompted an exchange between he and Zega, who told Nixon and county officials the Freedom of Information request was valid and legally had to be accommodated. Then Zega informed Nixon that any meetings with two or more of the unnamed court members to discuss the request could constitute a meeting related to county business, and under that law the press should be alerted.

Nixon said he understood and was taking care to avoid that situation.

Great Scott! What a tangled web officials can weave when their laptops and cell phones in a pinch do them leave.

Springdale Republican Justice of the Peace Harvey Bowman said he talked with Nixon (and paid him himself) because he wanted an attorney who could focus strictly on his needs. “From what I understand, this involves personal liability based on compliance with the law,” he told Holtmeyer.

I see this legalistic scurrying as a good learning experience for city councils, county quorum courts and state officials who might fall into the convenient trap of getting comfy doing the public’s business privately via electrons. You just can’t do that according to the state law.

Yet after reading that Justice of the Peace Tom Lundstrum of Elm Springs had nothing relevant to turn over, conceding, “I don’t know the first thing about FOIA and what have you,” I also can see seminars are in order for officeholders.

Perhaps those sessions are held now, especially for incoming officeholders. If not, they should be.

As this is written, eight members of the Quorum Court had complied with the request. No word as yet on what the results will show, or any potential fallout.

I’ll close by saying I can only hope this will encourage other newspapers across our state to regularly use the Freedom of Information Act to request information from public officials in their communities. The law itself is such a gift to the people and a tool for journalists of every stripe to wield in the interest of committing journalism in the public interest.

I’ve lost track of how many requests I’ve submitted over the years that helped break free information that otherwise would never have surfaced.

That dam flap

The flap over whether to rebuild the leaky earthen dam that forms Lake Bella Vista continues as both sides await a ruling by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as to whether funding this expensive plan is advisable and feasible.

The Weekly Vista newspaper reports a number of significant problems with the aging dam. The controversy over the 22-acre lake and dam sitting atop fractured karst formations and near a basement fracture (as discovered by geoscientist John Van Brahana), as well as the overall condition of the lake described by one opponent as an “unusable, fetid algae-infested” lagoon, prompted 69 supportive and opposing responders to FEMA during the public comments period. Greg Van Horn, who has led the opposition, said records show the vast majority of those are not in favor of a rebuilt dam.

I respect that the dam-replacement proposal has its supporters like the local historical society and the mayor. Yet I continue to sincerely believe, based on facts and circumstances, the best alternative is to restore the free-flowing Little Sugar Creek to its natural state for the enjoyment and recreation of everyone affected.

The Vista story also said opponents contend the environmental assessment submitted with the proposal for a new dam was flawed in several key areas. Moreover, it was alleged that a potential “serious conflict of interest” exists because the firm the city of Bentonville hired to complete the environmental assessment likely would be the same one to rebuild the dam at estimated overall cost of $3.5 million, mostly from federal tax dollars.

With nothing set in concrete (sorry), the waitin’ and debatin’ continues until FEMA folks finally make a decision, hopefully based on facts and reason.

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Mike Masterson’s column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at [email protected] .

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