The Indiana Publisher

May 2022 Page 6 Molly DeVoew Times of Northwest Indiana (Munster) ST. JOHN — The Town Council has approved a settle- ment agreement in a law suit over the town's failure to record meeting minutes. In October 2021, St. John resident Jeff Slaven filed a public records request with the town, asking for the ordinance specifying who is responsible for recording Board of Zoning Appeals and St. John Town Council meeting minutes. He also requested Plan Commission meeting minutes from the start of 2021 to present and Board of Zoning Appeals minutes from April 2021 to present. Town Clerk-Treasurer Beth Hernandez sent Slaven ordinance 1720, which shows the person responsible is the recording secretary. She also informed Slaven that the other records did not exist. According to records provid- ed by Hernandez, missing Town Council and Redevelopment Commission minutes date back to July 2021. Missing Board of Zoning Appeals minutes date back to April 2021, and miss- ing Plan Commission minutes date all the way back to October 2020. After Slaven filed a formal complain with Indiana Public Access Counselor Luke Britt, arguing that St. John violated the law by not having the meet- ing minutes, the town responded Nov. 5, saying "the minutes are currently being transcribed." On Jan. 4, Britt released an opinion finding "that the Town of Saint John violated the Indiana Open Door Law by not making minutes available within a reasonable time. As such, it violated the Access to Public Records Act by not supplying the requester with documents that should exist." The Open Door Law requires attendance, general information discussed and all votes taken be recorded after every public meeting. On Jan. 31, Slaven filed a lawsuit against the town, asking that St. John be required to pro- vide the past minutes and cover "all reasonable attorney fees." During an April 27 meet- ing the council unanimously approved a settlement payment of $4,400 to cover all attorney and filing fees. Town Attorney David Westland also said Slaven would be sent all of the requested meeting minutes. Councilman Wayne Pondinas said St. John "failed as a town" and "failed our residents" by not recording minutes for such a long period of time. "It is just a shame that we had to pay that kind of money to have minutes," Pondinas said. "It seems ridiculous that it hap- pened, (not recording minutes) should never happen again." Town of St. John settles lawsuit over missing minutes of public meetings dating as far back at October 2020 the formation of the Jay County AIDS Task Force in 1994, serv- ing as its first president, and was instrumental in the development and creation of John Jay Center for Learning. He was president of The Portland Foundation (1988 through '94), Portland 2000 (1988 to '92) and Portland Area Chamber of Commerce (1988). He also served on the boards of Friends of the Limberlost, Minnetrista Cultural Center, John Jay Center for Learning and Jay County Development Corp. Ronald was Portland Area Chamber of Commerce's Citizen of the Year in 2007. (He is nomi- nated for the 2021 Jay County Community Award for Dunkirk Community Commitment along with George Lopez and Arnold Clevenger for their con- certs performed for residents at Miller's Merry Manor. The awards ceremony is scheduled for next month.) In 2017, he was among the first inductees into The Circle of Corydon, a state honor for those who have made "a remarkable contribution to the betterment" of Indiana and "dem- onstrated in life and in service the qualities exemplified by our state's great citizens." "I'm not very good with words," Ronald said, drawing a laugh from the family, friends and local officials gathered for the ceremony. "All I can say is thank you." He was involved in inter- national journalism training for about 20 years, begin- ning when he was selected as a Fulbright Senior Scholar in 1988. He moved with his fam- ily to Chisinau, Moldova, for six months, teaching courses at Universitatea de Stat din Moldova, Chisinau, and doing consulting work for Centrul Independent de Jurnalism and Asociatia Presei Independente. Ronald's work in Moldova sparked a career in train- ing journalists in former Soviet republics and beyond, including Georgia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Belarus, Poland, Russia, Afghanistan and Myanmar. He wrote "A Path Toward Independence: Principles of Newspaper Management for Central Asia," which was published by the International Center for Journalists and has been translat- ed into Russian, Kazakh, Uzbek, Kyrgyz and Tajik. A celebration of Ronald's life is being planned for June. Ronald Continued from Page 2 "It is just a shame that we had to pay that kind of money to have minutes. It seems ridiculous that it happened." — Wayne Pondinas, councilman, St. John Questions? Contact the HSPA Legal Hotline. Have questions about your rights, access to information, the Open Door Law & more? Contact the HSPA Legal Hotline at legal@hspa.com.

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