Feeds
Printer Version
Email This Article
All five Port Royal Town Council members, members of the town's redevelopment commission, Town Manager Van Willis, S.C. State Ports Authority board member Glen Kilgore and town Planning and Operations Administrator Linda Bridges met in an executive session to discuss the state port site set to be shuttered and sold off to a private developer by the end of the year.
Phil Fairbanks, chairman of the redevelopment commission, said the executive session was held to explain the process of forming a development agreement for the port site and the purchase of the land. A private developer attended the closed-door meeting, but neither Fairbanks nor Willis would say who the developer was.
After the executive session, the redevelopment commission voted that the town set aside 15 acres of open space as part of its plan for the redevelopment of the port.
Local officials violated the S.C. Freedom of Information Act by failing to release an agenda stating that an executive session would be held, according to Jay Bender, a Columbia-based attorney for the S.C. Press Association.
Bender added that what was discussed by the group shouldn't have been handled behind closed doors.
The state's Freedom of Information Act, which outlines items that can be discussed behind closed doors by a public body, states that a group can discuss "proposed contractual arrangements and proposed sale or purchase of property, the receipt of legal advice where the legal advice relates to a pending, threatened, or potential claim or other matters covered by attorney-client privilege."
"That process should have been public, that is illegal." Bender said of Port Royal's meeting, noting that contractual matters alone are not always sufficient to call a closed-door meeting. "That is not significant enough to have an executive session."
State and local officials have been working on completing a plan for the port site and expect to release that plan, with an attached development agreement, to private developers for bids. The plan has not been completed and a request for proposals hasn't been sent out to developers by the Ports Authority, which ultimately will sell the land.
State law also requires all public bodies to release notice of their meetings at least 24 hours ahead of time and include an agenda.
The notice sent out by the town Tuesday and Wednesday announcing the commission meeting did not list any agenda items, an executive session or that the full Town Council would be attending.
Port Royal Mayor Sam Murray said Town Council members were "spectators" and not in charge of the meeting, adding that he asked Willis to send an agenda to the media before the Wednesday meeting.
"I didn't see an agenda, but if there was a mistake I don't thing it was intentional," Murray said.
Fairbanks acknowledged that an agenda should have been sent out.
"I will speak to Mr. Willis about it, and I will make sure this doesn't happen again on my watch," he said.
However, Willis and Fairbanks would not concede that discussing the port in secret was illegal. The pair said it was legal because the information discussed was not voted on and that an executive session can be called for sensitive issues related to the town.
"There wasn't a vote taken at the (executive session)," Willis said, insisting that the discussion behind closed doors was within the law. "And any proposals (the Town Council has) will be voted on publicly."
Kilgore could not be reached for comment Thursday, and Ports Authority spokesman Byron Miller said he didn't know about Wednesday's meeting.The meeting was in response to last week's visit by Gov. Mark Sanford, who pitched a 13-acre park for the port site once it's redeveloped.
The commission countered with plans for a 15-acre park, which will include 10 acres north of Seventh Street and 5 acres south of Seventh, with 2.4 acres at the end of Paris Avenue near the water as the "signature park."
Many town officials, including the mayor, said Sanford's plan for 13 acres of open space was too much because it would force the town to hire more police and public works personnel.
Bob Bender, a member of the commission, said there were several reasons for wanting more open space. He said the 15-acre plan is good for the town because it is spread out, while Sanford's plan calls for a majority of the open space to sit together in a large tract.
Murray said Thursday he supports the plan for 15 acres of open space because it divides the park land, making it easier to patrol by vehicle. He also said the town will not have to immediately hire new staff in public works or the police department.
Sanford signed legislation two years ago requiring that the port be closed and sold by the end of the year, giving the town access to the waterfront while adding revenue to its tax base.
