Page 4 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, February 21, 2020 8 Norwood St. Everett (617) 387-9810 Kitchen Hours: Mon-Thurs: 12-10pm Fri-Sat: 12-11pm Sunday: 1pm-10pm www.eight10barandgrille.com Community Preservation Committee hit with Open Meeting Law complaint By Barbara Taormina T Celebrate St. Paddy’s Day! Corned Beef & Cabbage Dinner Served All Day Tues., March 17 Where everyone’s Irish for a Day! Try our $12 LUNCH Menu - 16 ITEMS SABATINO INSURANCE AGENCY Call for a Quote 617-387-7466 Or email Rocco@sabatino-ins.com We cover: * Auto * Home * Boat * Renter * Condo * Life * Multi-Policy Discounts * Commercial 10% Discounts * Registry Service Also Available he city is responding to yet another Open Meeting Law (OML) complaint that highlights problems with the way information is delivered and records are kept. City Solicitor Kathryn Fallon met with the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) last week to review a complaint which involves the agenda and minutes of a public hearing the committee held last March. Fallon also discussed the requirements for meeting notifications, agendas and record-keeping required by the state’s Open Meeting Law, which is meant to ensure government transparency in public policy debates and decisions. Kathy Sullivan, who has been leading the Salemwood Community’s opposition to the city’s plan to include a synthetic turf athletic field as part of the renovation of Roosevelt Park, filed a formal OML complaint on Dec. 15, 2019. “The reason for the complaint was that multiple requests had been made for the minutes and agenda for the March 27, 2019 public hearing that went unanswered,” wrote Sullivan in a detailed post on the Malden News Network’s Facebook page. At that public hearing, several residents outlined their reasons for opposing the artificial turf field. Fallon explained to Community Preservation Committee members that Open Meeting Law requires them to respond to public records requests within 10 days. The requests for minutes from the March public hearing went unanswered for six months before Sullivan filed her formal complaint. The Open Meeting Law also requires public bodies to review and respond to formal complaints within 14 days and to send a copy of their response to the Attorney General. “It’s unclear why the CPC had not acted in accordance with the state’s procedures and instructions for responding to this complaint,” wrote Sullivan. Community Preservation Committee Chair Julianne Orsino has not explained the committee’s failure to respond to Sullivan’s request for minutes or to her formal Open Meeting Law complaint. During her meeting with the Community Preservation Committee, Fallon repeatedly stressed the importance of having clear, detailed minutes that are done on time. “It’s crucial at public hearings that the names and addresses of everyone who speaks is recorded,” she told the committee, adding that the minutes should include a summary of what each speaker said. But according to Sullivan, none of the names of residents who attended the March public hearing to oppose the artificial turf field were taken, and their comments were not recorded. Both Sullivan and Fallon agree that the point of a public hearing is to allow the public to speak and have their comments recorded as part of the public record. Fallon also said she had seen complaints about what the Community Preservation Committee is putting on their agendas. She said listing old business and new business isn’t enough and that all items that will be up for discussion should be clearly listed. According to Sullivan, an incomplete or vague agenda was a problem at an April meeting when the committee voted on funding for the Roosevelt Park project as part of old business. Residents who were at the meeting because of their interest in Roosevelt Park left before the vote because it wasn’t listed on the agenda, and they assumed the discussion on the park was over. Fallon said every board, commission and committee must have an administrator who is a OML COMPLAINT | SEE PAGE 5 Malden Library announces next Movie Night J oin us on Wednesday, March 11, 2020 at 6:008:30pm at the Malden Public Library’s Malden Reads first film screening for the 2020 book selection, Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury.We will be showing a movie about a librarian, played by Bette Davis, who is in the middle of a Storm Center. In this 1956 movie, “Bette Davis plays a small town librarian who inspires the joy of reading in children and stands up against book banning during the 1950s when anti-communism sentiment is causing panic. Her refusal to pull a book about communism from the library costs her her job and reputation and eventually triggers a fire in the library. Davis’s character is based on the story of librarian Ruth W. Brown, who was accused of being a communist because of her anti segregation efforts.” A discussion of this year’s Malden Reads book selection, Fahrenheit 451, will follow the movie. This year Fahrenheit 451 is part of the NEA’s Big Read. Movie times are approximate. This film is free and open to the public and is accessible.Please call the Malden Public Library at 781-324-0218 for more information.Rated PG (85 min.) http://www.sabatino-ins.com SABATINO 564 Broadway Everett, MA 02149 617-387-7466 Hours of Operation are: Mondays - Fridays 9am to 5pm Saturdays by appointment only Like us on Facebook advocate newspaper Facebook.com/Advocate.news.ma
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