Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-07-18
AAM4W UIU
To Study Closed
Session Issue
/. Custom Is Criticized
By Two Members
As Bad for Future
BY William }. Elxin

Members Of the Arlington
County Board will be asked at
the next meeting to consider
whether the practice Of holding
closed Friday night sessions be-
fore regular board meetings
should be continued.
The boards regular meetings,
open to the public, are held every
other Saturday.
Mrs. Leone Buchholz, Inde-
pendent, the board chairman,
told a reporter who questioned
her about the Friday meetings
that she will breach the Ques-
ton Of continuing them at the
regular meeting next Saturday.
Practice for 2 Years.
For nearly two years, board
members have been going over
Saturdays agenda in closed ses-
sions the night before. Members
are unanimous in saying that no.
decisions are reached but that
background information is pro-
vided by the county manager and
department heads in response
to questions. They also asserted
that the procedure has been
helpful in keeping them in
formed.
The practice started after a
court decision ousted three Fed
eral employees from the board in
September, 1852, and three citi-
zens were appointed to serve as
temporary requirements. Be-
cause the new board members
were unfamiliar with county
problems, the Friday confer
ences we're set up to brief them
on matters to come up at the
board meeting the next day.
Board members Wesley w.
Cooper. Democrat, and Alvin F.
Kimel, Independent. believe the
conferences may have outlined
their usefulness.
Possible COnceaIment.
Mr.. Kimel said he could see
how a future board might use
the closed Friday sessions to
conceal disagreements and con-
troversies from the public.
MIR. Kimel said, II can't see
why the same thing can't be
accomplished on Saturday that
now takes place on Friday night.
Most of us have a pretty good
background now"
He said that If his fellow board
members want to continue the
conferences, he would favor adj
mittee the press but not the
public.
Mr.. Cooper, who took Office
last January, believes the con-
ferenceS tend to permit the
board Ito kind of speed over
some things in open meeting,
possibly giving a wrong impress
sion that we're trying to conceal
something"
WED be better off," Mr..
Cooper said, eff we'd do without
the Friday night meetings and
add to the Saturday meetings"
ROwzee Disagrees.
George M, Rowzee. ir.. A Re-
publican board member, said
the board would never get
through on Saturday eff mem
berS were not given the back
ground on county problems at
Friday sessions.
Mr.. RowZee cites national au-
thorities on municipal admin
stration who favor such brief
ings. The public is not deprived
Of the right to question any
item OF board business, he said,
because a copy of the agerida
is available to every citizen who
attends the Saturday meetings.
His fellow Republican on the
board, Robert A. Peck, said that
the Friday conferences increase
the boards efficiency.
Mr.. Peck said he would favor
permitting the press to attend
the gatherings but would oppose
admitting the public.
Ninety-f1ve per cent of the
decisions made in Congress, he
added, are made in conferences
land think that's the way to
do it." He said this applied to
administrative matters and hot
to controversial subjects or to
problems which were to come up
for hearings.