Alleged open meeting law violation filed against Rochester Parks Commission
ROCHESTER — In the midst of a saga surrounding renovations to Gifford Park Playground, the Rochester Parks Commission, in charge of signing off on the project, is now facing allegations it violated Open Meeting Law.
On Nov. 21, Charles Morgan filed a complaint with the Massachusetts attorney general’s office, alleging a number of violations took place, mostly regarding discussions over the playground project.
On Monday, Oct. 21 the Rochester Select Board voted to approve a $45,000 donation to upgrade the playground from non-profit Tri-Town for Protecting Children.
Tri-Town for Protecting Children is a local non-profit “dedicated to raising awareness in our community about sexually-explicit literature and social influencing being promoted” in public schools, according to its website.
In the complaint filed, Morgan said that Rochester Parks Commission meeting agendas from June 5 and June 26 do not mention the playground project, but meeting minutes show that discussions were held at each meeting.
The complaint also raises a question regarding the commission’s agenda for a July 30 meeting.
He said the agenda shows that discussion of the playground was held but meeting minutes state the playground was finalized.
Morgan said in his complaint that it “seems like the majority of this was discussed unannounced to the public.”
He also said that the parks commission should be required to attend open meeting law training.
“Better records of meetings need to be kept so that there are no questions as to how a project like this was done,” said Morgan.
The attorney general’s office will determine whether the violation was intentional and could require members to take a training session, nullify action taken at meetings or impose civil penalties, among other potential issued orders.