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said. "I'm going to appeal this if I can." Adams, at the state's request, said he installed guard rails around the proper- ty; added a new sprinkler sys- tem; and installed new safety doors. He said he invested more than $110,000 to get the facility ready for the new business. Adams' attorney, John Merlau, said he thought the board was biased. He pointed out that Mosley has a family member living close to the site who doesn't want the new busi- ness in the community. However, the board's attorney, Christopher Isom, told the Adamses there was no conflict of interest in allowing Mosley to vote. Tamey Adams, who was born and raised in New Palestine, said she doesn't understand why the board wouldn't allow the couple to open the new business. "My point is this would have brought some jobs to the area," she said. "At this point in time with everything going on, we could have offered at least 15 people jobs. We were trying to do something for the community rather than selling the place." Others were pleased with the vote. Local resident Steve Rainey said he was elated by the board's decision, saying that section of Main Street is dan- gerous because of truck traffic. Rainey noted the area is missing several street signs that have been knocked down by passing motorists. Inviting more pedes- trians into the area would be dangerous, he said. "The building itself has been problematic on a noise level with the bands they have already hosted," Rainey said. "Needless to say, they also had wedding receptions, baby show- ers, graduation parties, family get-togethers all without being up to fire code." Rainey said he was disap- pointed to learn from Ron Adams during the meeting that former town manager Dave Book had given Adams permis- sion to use the building as he saw fit without getting proper zoning, a claim current town officials confirmed. Donna Hamm, who lives next to the site, spoke against allowing for an assembly hall- type of business prior to the vote, citing trash issues associ- ated with the proposed business. "I don't think we need anoth- er bar," Hamm said. "The value of my home will go down." complaint Britt labeled "a worthwhile exercise" in an Oct. 26 phone call. A few weeks after the com- plaint was filed, Tumey responded to the complaint and acknowl- edged the existence of the text message and other emails, arguing she withheld the documents due to attorney-client privilege. In his official opinion, Britt noted that while it was "plausible that the documented communica- tion between a Clerk-Treasurer and the city attorney would qualify" as a document that can be withheld citing attorney-client privilege, Tumey did not properly notify the newspaper why she was not giving out the public document. "(A)n agency cannot merely release a portion of a request and omit the remainder without referencing why," Britt wrote. "Instead, a denial must be accompanied by a statement referencing the specific exemptions or exceptions justifying the denial." Britt said that just because a communication came from an attorney does not automatically qualify it as protected. "Obviously, not all communi- cation that is between an attorney and client is privileged, because it doesn't always have to do with that representative relationship," Britt said. What's more, even if it is protected, the client can waive that privilege. "The attorney can't tell the client, 'Don't give this out,'" Britt said. Hoosier State Press Associa- tion Executive Director and Legal Counsel Steve Key agreed with Britt's official opinion, underscor- ing the need for government to give a specific reason why a records request would be denied. "If a governing body has records and, let's say there are 10 records and they give you three and they think the other seven are covered by an exception, they still have to acknowledge that those records exist and tell you what statutory basis they are relying upon to deny you that access," Key said. Key said that the correspon- dence between Coffey and Tumey could be withheld if the attorney was giving advice to the Clerk- Treasurer on how to respond based on "anticipation of litigation" from Bales. "But the Clerk-Treasurer, according to (Britt's) opinion, should have been forthright to say that, 'I have these emails or text messages but I'm not going to provide them to you because they fall under this particular provi- sion,'" Key said. "And they are supposed to tell you which provision they are relying upon." According to Key, the city has to point to the specific provision in state code that it is relying upon for keeping a public record confidential. During the conversation with Britt, he said the city should have acknowledged that it was withholding the documents based on attorney-client privilege — as opposed to stating that the text messages and other electronic correspon- dences did not exist. "It makes it look like they're hiding something," added Britt, who wrote in his opinion that Tumey's inaction "understandably sowed a certain amount of confusion and suspicion." Key also noted that if an individual is denied access to a public document, the first step is to reach out to Britt's office. If the issue is not resolved, and that individual still believes the document is disclosable, that individual can file a lawsuit against the municipality. "In addition to asking for the document, they can ask the court find that an individual or individu- als (who) purposely violated the statute and impose a $100 fine ($500 if it's a repeat offense)," Key wrote in a follow-up email after his phone conversation with the RT. "That fine, if imposed, must be paid by the individual. It can't be covered or reimbursed by the public agency." Complaint Continued from Page 1 Zoning Continued from Page 5 Community members express their views to the New Palestine Board of Zoning Appeals. Photo by Kristy Deer, Daily Reporter. Page 9 November 2020

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