Source: https://opinions.attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/2015/08/19/15-ib06-081915-foia-opinion-letter-to-ms-marcia-l-schieck-and-ms-dell-tush-re-foia-complaint-concerning-the-town-of-dewey-beach/
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 14:36:52+00:00

Document:
On February 13, March 11, and March 15, 2015, the Delaware Department of Justice (“DOJ”) received from Ms. Marcia L. Schieck and other property owners several complaints (collectively, the “Schieck Complaint”) alleging violations by the Town of Dewey Beach, Delaware (the “Town”)1 of the open meetings and public records provisions of the Delaware Freedom of Information Act, 29 Del. C. §§ 10001-10006 (“FOIA”).
On March 3, 2015, the DOJ received from Dell Tush and several other property owners a separate complaint (the “Tush Complaint”) raising issues substantially similar to those raised by the Schieck Complaint.
On March 11 and June 19, 2015, respectively, we received the Town’s responses to the Tush and Schieck Complaints. In accordance with 29 Del. C. § 10005(e), we are treating the Schieck and Tush Complaints jointly as a petition for a determination (hereinafter referred to jointly as the “Petition” or the “Petitions”) by the DOJ as to whether the Town violated FOIA. We render no opinion regarding compliance with any other applicable law of the State of Delaware.
2) Public Hearing regarding the possible purchase of real estate located at 1503 and 1505 Coastal Highway, Dewey Beach, Delaware. See item 2 below.
• There are no minutes of a special meeting held by the Town Commissioners on January 2, 2015 to discuss the sale of another real estate asset.
On March 11, 2015, we received from Ms. Schieck and various other property owners a second letter (the “March 11 Letter”) described by the authors as an “addendum” to the initial Schieck Complaint. The March 11 Letter enclosed several email messages between Mayor/Commissioner Hanson, Commissioner Jasinski, Mr. Appelbaum, and Jim Deedes (Assistant Town Manager). According to the March 11 Letter, the emails collectively demonstrate (among other things) that Hanson, Jasinski, Applebaum and Deedes colluded in private to sell and purchase the Properties without informing the other commissioners, conducted serial meetings in violation of FOIA, and intentionally delayed the fulfillment of Ms. Schieck’s February 6, 2015 public records request. Ms. Schieck also concludes that the emails prove that Hanson, Jasinski, Appelbaum and possibly other administrative staff “had full knowledge of the Town’s interest in purchasing the land on Route 1” as early as December 7, 2014, and repeatedly provided property owners with misleading and/or false information.
The March 11 Letter also takes issue with a January 13, 2015 email from Mayor Hanson to the commissioners that urged them “to take advantage of meeting with Marc and/or Nancy so you are well informed about the budget,” and argues that any discussion of the budget between the mayor and the commissioners violated FOIA because the commissioners are required to discuss the town budget during public meetings.
1. The Dewey Beach Town Council violated [FOIA provisions] related to open meetings and any other provisions of FOIA laws by failing to convene a public meeting to discuss and vote to authorize Mayor Diane Hanson to identify property, determine contract terms and price, allocate $25,000.00 in escrow funds and to grant Mayor Hanson the authority to act on Council’s behalf in executing the Agreement of Sale for Delaware Commercial Property for the purchase of 1503 and 1505 Coastal Hwy, Dewey Beach, Delaware on January 31, 2015.
2. The Town Council violated [FOIA] by posting an agenda for its March 14, 2014 Council meeting under Regular Agenda item 2. The description did not accurately represent what was being discussed.
With respect to allegation 1 of the March 18 Letter, the Property Owners argue that Mayor Hanson signed the Agreement without the prior authorization of the Town Council in violation of the Town Charter.29 The March 18 Letter also questions the validity of the vote itself since of the three commissioners who voted in favor of the Agreement, two were involved in the negotiation of the purchase of the property.
With respect to allegation 2 of the March 18 Letter, the Property Owners contend that the Notice and Agenda of the March 14, 2015 Town Council meeting was misleading. Specifically, item 2 of the agenda indicates that the Town will discuss the sale of real estate, and does not mention the purchase of the Properties. Accordingly, the Property Owners contend that the public was not provided notice of the Council’s intention to discuss and vote on the approval of the Agreement.
• The January 17, 2015 Town Manager’s Meeting violated FOIA’s notice requirements.
Fred Townsend, Esq., writing on behalf of the Town, submitted responses to the Petitions on March 11 and June 19, 2015. The Town contends that the Town Council did not violate FOIA because the Agreement was contingent upon the Town’s approval of the purchase of the Properties, and the approval vote occurred at the Town’s public meeting held on March 14, 2015. Additionally, the Town submits that it did not violate FOIA when it did not disclose the minutes of the meetings held in executive session in June and October 2014. The Petitioners requested those minutes in February; at that time, the disclosure of the June and October meeting minutes would have “defeated the purposes of the executive session” because the “site acquisition” was pending. The Town further notes that a redacted version of the minutes was provided to Petitioners on March 11, 2015. However, the Town admits that it did not prepare minutes for the meeting held on January 2, 2015.
Based on our review of the record of this case, we have identified several potential FOIA violations, each of which will be discussed below.
We find that the Town cited a proper purpose for entering executive session on June 20 and October 11, 2014, and that the respective agendas for the June 20 and October 11 meetings sufficiently described that purpose. We therefore conclude that the June 20 and October 11, 2014 meeting agendas did not violate FOIA.
II. The Town’s Failure to Maintain Minutes of Executive Session Portion of Meetings Held on June 20 and October 11, 2014.
III. Whether Email Communications between Mayor Diane Hanson, Town Manager Marc Appelbaum and Commissioner David Jasinski During December 2014 and January, 2015 Constituted “Serial” Meetings that Violated of FOIA.
The Petitions allege that certain email messages between Mayor Hanson, Mr. Abbelbaum and Commissioner David Jasinski, sent during December 2014 and January 2015, constituted “serial” meetings that violated FOIA’s open meetings laws. The emails at issue included discussions of the Town’s potential acquisition of the Properties and discussions of negotiations between Mayor Hanson and a local realtor. There is no evidence in the record to suggest that any commissioners other than Mayor Hanson and Commissioner Jasinski were involved in or aware of these email discussions.
While the email discussions between Mayor Hanson, Mr. Appelbaum and David Jansinski indisputably involved “public business”, we cannot conclude that the discussions amounted to a meeting for purposes of FOIA. No quorum of members was involved in the email discussions of the Properties. Indeed, it appears that the other three Commissioners first became aware of the Agreement after Mayor Hanson sent email notifications to the Commissioners on January 31 and February 2, 2015.48 While it is perhaps troubling that the Commissioners were not involved in a public discussion regarding the potential acquisition of the Properties, the Agreement itself was expressly contingent upon final approval by the Commissioners.49 We cannot find that the email communications, standing alone, constituted a “serial” meeting in violation of FOIA.
On July 29, 2015, we asked the Town Solicitor, Mr. Townsend, whether minutes were created for the January 2, 2015 Town meeting. Mr. Townsend informed our office that no minutes were created for the open portion of the January 2 meeting. However, minutes were created for the executive session portion of the January 2 meeting. According to Mr. Townsend, no public business was discussed during the open session of the January 2 meeting. Rather, the sole purpose of that portion of the meeting was to permit the Town Commissioners to vote to enter executive session. Mr. Townsend further informed our office that the Town Commissioners agreed to adopt the minutes of the open portion of the January 2 Meeting at a public meeting held on August 14, 2015.
Section 10004(f) of FOIA requires a public body to “maintain minutes of all meetings.”53 We find that the Town’s failure to maintain minutes of the January 2, 2015 meeting constituted a violation of FOIA.
The Petitioners allege that the notice and agenda of the January 17, 2015 “Town Manager’s Meeting” failed to comply with FOIA’s notice requirements. We conclude that the January 17, 2015 notice and meeting agenda complied with FOIA. The notice and agenda for the meeting were posted on January 10, 2015, at least seven days in advance of the January 17, 2015 meeting as required by 29 Del. C. § 10004(e)(2). There is no evidence or allegation that the Town posted the notice and agenda in a manner that violated 29 Del. C. § 10004(4), or that the meeting was held in a location not permitted by 29 Del. C. § 10004(g). Therefore, we find no FOIA violation in connection with the Town Manager’s January 17, 2015 public meeting.
In this case, the Town was required to, and did, respond to Ms. Schieck’s FOIA request by February 27, 2015. However, the Town’s response did not comply with FOIA. FOIA requires a public body to provide one of three permissible reasons for delayed delivery of public records.60 Here, the Town informed Ms. Schieck that it was processing her request and, without further explanation, explained that the records would be ready in approximately 2 weeks. Ms. Schieck did not receive records responsive to her request until March 6, 2015.61 We find that the February 27, 2015 response to Ms. Schieck’s February 6, 2015 request for public records violated 29 Del. C. § 10003(h).
The Petitions allege that the March 14, 2015 meeting agenda was misleading because it did not adequately put the public on notice that the Town would take a vote to ratify the Agreement. We disagree and find no FOIA violations with respect to the March 14, 2015 meeting agenda.
We find that the March 14, 2015 agenda provided adequate notice to the public of the Town’s intention to ratify the Agreement. The agenda indicated that the Commissioners would discuss and potentially vote on the acquisition of the Properties at the March 14, 2015 meeting. The agenda itself indicated the precise addresses of the properties under consideration. There were no broad generalities concerning the Properties such that a member of the public could not determine that the Properties would be discussed and possibly voted on at the meeting. Therefore, the agenda for the March 14, 2015 meeting complied with FOIA.
We find that only two of the numerous issues raised in the Petitions constitute FOIA violations: the failure of the Town to provide a timely and appropriate response to Ms. Schieck’s February 6, 2015 request for public records; and the failure of the Town to record minutes of its January 2, 2015 public meeting. However, we decline to find that any action taken by the Town was invalid because we do not believe that these violations affected substantial rights of the public.
With respect to the February 6, 2015 FOIA violation, the Town provided responsive records to Ms. Schieck on March 6, 2015. Ms. Schieck has not alleged that those records were not responsive or that the Town otherwise failed to comply with her request. Ms. Schieck’s only complaint appears to be with respect to the timeliness of the Town’s response. While we urge the Town to promptly respond to all public records requests in a manner that complies with 29 Del. C. § 10003(h), or to note with specificity that the request is under legal review or requires additional time for another statutorily permissible reason, we nonetheless find that Ms. Schieck’s complaint with respect to the February 6, 2015 request for public records is moot and requires no remediation.
The Town Solicitor informed us that the Town did not create minutes of the public session of the January 2 meeting until recently. Mr. Townsend represented that no public business was discussed during the public session of the January 2 meeting. According to Mr. Townsend, the purpose of the Town’s public session was to vote to enter executive session. The Town voted to adopt the January 2, 2015 public session meeting minutes at a regularly scheduled meeting held on August 13, 2015. We find no further remediation is required.
We understand that the Petitions are primarily concerned with the Town’s decision to enter the Agreement and potentially spend significant public funds without first discussing the issue at a properly noticed public meeting. We further understand that the petitioners believe this decision violated the Town’s Charter and other State laws. However, FOIA is a limited statute designed to fulfill a particular purpose: to guarantee that “public business be performed in an open and public manner.”68 While Delaware’s general assembly granted enforcement powers to our office under Sections 100005(b) and (e) of FOIA, the scope of those powers is limited to reviewing and issuing determinations regarding actual or potential violations of FOIA. FOIA does not carry with it the power to police towns’ compliance with their charters or any other applicable law.
We find that the Town did not violate FOIA when it voted to sell the Ruddertowne Space or when it voted to approve the purchase of the Properties. The Town did violate FOIA when it failed to provide a statutorily acceptable response to Ms. Schieck’s February 6, 2015 request for public records. Finally, the Town violated FOIA when it failed to prepare minutes of its January 2, 2015 meeting.
1 The Town of Dewey Beach is governed by the “Commissioners of Dewey Beach.” The Town’s Charter provides that “[t]he government of the Town and the exercise of all powers conferred by [the] Charter . . . shall be vested in the Commissioners of Dewey Beach.” According to the Town’s Charter, the “Commissioners of Dewey Beach” (also known as the “Town Council”) consists of five members. One of the Commissioners must have the title “Mayor of the Town of Dewey Beach.” During all times relevant to this matter, the “Commissioners of Dewey Beach” included Mayor Diane Hanson, David Jasinski, Anna Legates, Gary Mauler, and Courtney Riordan. See Charter of the Town of Dewey Beach at Section 3, available at http://ecode360.com/12077425 (last visited July 29, 2015). See also http://www.townofdeweybeach.com/Town-Council/. It is undisputed that the Town Council is a “public body” subject to FOIA’s open meeting laws. See 29 Del. C. § 10002(h).
2 Because of the fact-specific questions raised in the Petition, we briefly summarize our understanding of the relevant facts. Please note that we do not, in the context of evaluating petitions for determination under FOIA, operate as an independent fact-finding body. We have also omitted any factual information that does not directly relate to the FOIA violations raised in the Petition.
3 See March 11, 2015 Response Letter, at p. 1; Minutes of July 19, 2013 Town Commissioner Meeting (attached as “Exhibit F” to the Tush Complaint).
6 Section 15 of the Town Charter permits the Town Mayor, “with the concurrence of a majority of all elected Commissioners of the Town,” to appoint a “Town Manager.” The Town Manager serves as the Chief Administrative Officer of the Town, the Secretary of the Commission of the Town, and the Treasurer of the Town. The Town Manager is not a member of the Town Council, but is required to perform various duties described in Section 16 of the Town Charter. Many of the Town Manager’s duties are subject to approval by the Town Commissioners. See Charter of the Town of Dewey Beach, Delaware, at Section 16, available at http://ecode360.com/12461111.
7 See Minutes of July 19, 2013 Town Commissioner Meeting (attached as “Exhibit F” to the Tush Complaint).
8 See Town Commissioners Meeting Agendas for June 20, 2014 and October 11, 2014.
9 Flood, Chris, Dewey signs contract for town hall expansion, Cape Gazette (February 3, 2015) (attached as “Exhibit J” to the March 11 letter complaint received from Marcia Schieck and other property owners).
10 See Minutes of January 24, 2014 Town Commissioner Meeting.
11 Flood, Chris, Dewey signs contract for town hall expansion, Cape Gazette (February 3, 2015) (attached as “Exhibit F” to the Schieck Complaint dated February 13, 2015). The Petitions question whether this transaction was in the best financial interests of the Town and accuse the Commissioners of failing to explore other bids for the Ruddertowne Space. Because such concerns are outside the scope of this opinion, no determinations concerning the propriety of the sale of the Ruddertowne Space are made herein.
13 See March 11, 2015 letter complaint from Marcia Schieck and other property owners.
14 See Buyer Agency Agreement, dated December 12, 2014.
15 See Agreement at p. 9.
16 See id. at p. 1.
17 Id. at p. 8.
18 See February 2, 2015 email from Mayor Diane Hanson to the Town of Dewey Beach Commissioners (attached as “Exhibit J” to the March 11 letter complaint received from Marcia Schieck and other property owners).
19 February 4, 2015 email from Anna Legates to Mayor Diane Hanson (attached as “Exhibit D” to the March 11 letter complaint).
22 See Town Manager Meeting Agendas for meetings held on January 17, 2015 and March 7, 2015.
23 Agenda of Town Meeting held on March 14, 2015.
24 See March 18, 2015 letter complaint from Marcia Schieck, et al.
25 The February 13 letter complaint raises numerous allegations that the Town Council, the Mayor, and the Town Manager, among other things, violated its charter and the public trust, and engaged in “haphazard and reckless” decision making regarding the Ruddertowne Space and the purchase of the Properties. The Property Owners also complain that many of these critical meetings were held during the winter months when the majority of property owners would not be in attendance, that Mayor Hanson’s written communications to the Town’s property owners misrepresented critical information, and that Mayor Hanson and the Town Manager failed to obtain appraisals of the various real estate properties involved prior to entering the agreements of sale on behalf of the Town.
These accusations do not relate to the Town Council’s obligations under FOIA. Rather, most of these claims relate either to alleged violations of the Town Charter or the alleged breach of fiduciary duties of the Town Council, the Mayor and the Town Manager. As these issues fall outside the scope of this office’s review, we decline to address them in this Opinion.
26 Flood, Chris, Dewey signs contract for town hall expansion, Cape Gazette (February 3, 2015) (attached as “Exhibit F” to the Schieck Complaint dated February 13, 2015).
27 See Notice of Executive Session, dated October 11, 2014; February 10, 2015 email to Maria Schieck (attached as “Exhibit H” to the February 13 letter complaint). According to Mr. Townsend’s March 11, 2015 response letter, the Petitioners were provided with a redacted version of the October 11, 2015 executive session meeting minutes on March 11, 2015.
28 See Photo, Elena L., Dewey enters contingency contract to acquire $875,000 property without any public meeting, discussion, or vote, Dewey Beach News (Feb. 3, 2015) (Claiming that the Town Commissioners did not vote on potential site acquisitions during the public portion of the October 2014 meeting even though Agenda Item 17 indicated that a vote would occur).
29 Because this allegation does not state a violation of FOIA, the legal significance of this claim will not be addressed by this Office.
30 The Tush Complaint raises several additional legal issues (i.e., breach of fiduciary duties, violation of the Town Charter and Town Code, etc) that do not relate to FOIA. These matters will not be addressed by this Office in this determination.
31 For purposes of this determination, we assume that Ms. Tush submitted a separate request for public records on February 6, 2015.
33 29 Del. C. § 10004(a).
35 See 29 Del. C. § 10004(c).
36 Town Commissioners Meeting Agenda for meeting held June 20, 2014.
37 Town Commissioners Meeting Agenda for meeting held October 11, 2014, at item 13.
38 29 Del. C. § 10004(b).
39 O’Neill v. Town of Middletown, 2007 WL 2752981, at *7 (Del. Ch. Mar. 29, 2007).
40 29 Del. C. § 10004(f) requires all public bodies to maintain minutes of all meetings, including executive sessions, conducted pursuant to FOIA. Although FOIA does not require that the Town store or maintain meeting minutes in any particular location, section 10004(f) requires public bodies to make meeting minutes available for public inspection and copying as a public record.
41 According to the October executive session meeting minutes, the Town discussed litigation matters, personnel matters, and a possible site acquisition during that portion of the meeting. The minutes also indicate that “[n]o actions or votes were taken at this meeting.” Although the Petitions and a local newspaper allege that the Town voted to approve action taken by Mr. Appelbaum regarding a site acquisition during the October 2014 executive session portion of the meeting, the minutes clearly indicate that no such vote was taken.
42 Section 10004(f) permits a public body to withhold “minutes or any portions thereof” taken during the executive session portion of a meeting “so long as public disclosure would defeat the lawful purpose for the executive session.” See also 29 Del. C. § 10004(l)(10) (exempting from public disclosure, “any record of discussions held in executive session pursuant to § 10004(b) and (c).”).
43 29 Del. C. § 10002(g).
44 29 Del. C. § 10002(j).
45 See Att’y Gen. Op. 08-IB03 (“[A] public body may achieve a quorum for purposes of FOIA through serial discussions which allow members of a public body ‘to receive and comment on other members’ opinions and thoughts, and reach a consensus on action to take.’”).
46 Att’y Gen. Op. 06-ID20, at p.2 (quoting Att’y Gen. Op. 06-ID16, at p.4).
48 See February 4, 2015 email from Anna Legates to Mayor Diane Hanson, attached as “Exhibit H” to March 11 letter (expressing concern that the Agreement was signed without input from the Town Council).
49 Agreement at p. 9, Clause 32.
50 See 29 Del. C. § 10004(e)(2)-(5); (g).
51 See Agenda for Town Council Executive Session and Open Meeting, held January 2, 2015.
52 The Petitions also challenge the Commissioners’ decision to hold a meeting during the winter and shortly after the holidays when most property owners are not in town. We are sympathetic to Petitioners’ concerns—the purpose of FOIA is to ensure “that public business be performed in an open and public manner.” 29 Del. C. 10001. However, FOIA does not require that public meetings be scheduled in such a way to ensure maximum public attendance. As discussed above, FOIA only requires that public bodies schedule meetings in a manner that complies with 29 Del. C. § 10004.
53 29 Del. C. 10004(f).
54 See March 6, 2015 Letter from Town of Dewey Beach Manager to Ms. Marcia Schieck, attached as “Exhibit A” to the March 11 Letter. The Tush Petition also states that Ms. Tush requested public records on February 6, 2015. Because the Tush Petition did not enclose the original FOIA request submitted to the Town, only the Schieck request is addressed herein.
55 See February 27, 2015 email from Ashleigh Hudson to Marcia Schieck (attached as “Exhibit B” to the March 11 Letter).
56 See 29 Del. C. § 10003(1).
57 See March 6, 2015 Letter from James Dedes, Assistant Town Manager, to Ms. Maria Schieck, regarding Ms. Schieck’s February 6, 2015 FOIA request (attached as “Exhibit A” to the March 11 Letter).
58 29 Del. C. § 10003(h)(1).
61 See March 6, 2015 Letter from James Dedes, Assistant Town Manager, to Ms. Maria Schieck, regarding Ms. Schieck’s February 6, 2015 FOIA request (attached as “Exhibit A” to the March 11 Letter).
62 Att’y Gen. Op. 12-IIB13, 2012 WL 6858971, at *4 (Dec. 21, 2012).
63 Ianni v. Department of Elections of New Castle County, 1986 WL 9610, at *5 (Aug. 29, 1986) (Allen, C.).
65 Att’y Gen. Op. 12-IIB13, 2012 WL 6858971, at *5 (Dec. 21, 2012).
67 See, e.g. Att’y Gen. Op. 08-IB07, at *9, 2008 WL 2397495 (May 23, 2008) (declining to recommend any remediation because the FOIA violations were harmless and resulted in no prejudice to the public rights created by FOIA); Att’y Gen. Op. 04-IB02, 2004 WL 257223, at *3 (Jan. 28, 2004) (remediation unnecessary where public body decided not to take the action agreed upon at public meeting held in violation of FOIA); Att’y Gen. Op. 97-IB18, 1997 WL 606482, at *3 (Sept. 2, 1997) (remediation unnecessary where decision reached during meeting held in violation of FOIA no longer applicable).
68 29 Del. C. § 10001.

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