[yrhcworking] Public right to know stuff and YRHC Dec.18 Draft Minutes

[Mlongreene2 at aol.com]

Hi All,  Attached are Draft minutes from the Tues. YRHC  meeting.    Also the 
following thoughts on what is public in our  communications and meetings:
 
The letter of the law in Maine about meetings, discussions, and perhaps  
e-mails as I interpret it is so strong that if followed to the "T",   almost 
nobody could talk to anybody about anything and little  could ever get done except 
in a properly posted meeting in  a public place.     
Let us continue to reflect on how we do our work and get it  as reasonably 
close to open and legal as we can.  I have been as  guilty as others in trying 
to move ahead sometimes without thinking about what  is the proper procedure.   
It is endlessly challenging no matter how  long you have done it.  We are all 
trying to do good stuff for others with  little spare common time to do.
 
I have modified the following quote I recently received on this  issue:
 
A reminder: a nonprofit's (we all - YRHC and YRHASC operate under the  
nonprofit YRHCorp as well as under the Town of Long Island)  stakeholders are the 
public in which it serves.  Directors are  answerable to the public, and are 
supposed to represent the public when  addressing the association.  All documents 
are to be open to the public,  and are actually required by law to be 
presented to the public within a timely  manner upon request.  Emails are included as 
a public document as of the  whole Enron debacle (previously they were 
considered private).  Whether an  email is requested or not, it is still a public 
document because it was a  communication to the association from a board member. 
 Feel free to get  work done with e-mails,  but be aware they are not 
necessarily private  communication.   I expect that anything I do by e-mail (for 
public  work) is open to be shared if needed or wanted.
 
Other interpretations are more than welcome.   We grappled long  and hard in 
the beginning of the Town with variations of these  issues.   I think our 
intent to continue to strive to make it work  properly is all anyone can ask.     
Thanks,  Mark






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