Mike Tadych Comments on Moore County Board of Commissioners Closed Minutes

As published in The Pilot:

” N.C. Press Association attorney Mike Tadych said the board was legally bound to provide all information connected to the closed session minutes.

“Based on review of the minutes, most of the information contained on the audio tapes would be a public record subject to inspection under the Public Records Law,” he wrote. “The board does not get to choose what form of public record to release.”

Leland said Thursday morning the staff was preparing audio recordings for release, but they were not available by press time.

Tadych said that the board relinquished the privilege of keeping the audio portions to itself. “To the extent that the board has legitimate claim to some portion of the audio tapes of the closed sessions as being subject to attorney client privilege, their release of the written minutes which contains counsel’s advice waives the capacity to maintain that privilege,” he said.

The issue with Bojangles’ first surfaced Oct. 18, 2011, according to meeting minutes, when a broker made an offer “for $280,000 for 1.3 acres on which a Bojangles’ would be located.”

The minutes read that Commissioner Nick Picerno “suggested Bojangles’ buy a piece of property the county would be interested in near the Health Department to potentially move DSS to one day, and then swap for the county-owned piece of property by Hardees in which Bojangles’ was interested.”

 

Click here to read the full article by John Lentz