Published: May 21, 2009 02:01 am      

Special meeting canceled at last minute

ST. ELMO — A special meeting of St. Elmo City Council was canceled Wednesday night about an hour prior to the meeting to avoid a violation of the Open Meetings Act.

Anticipating a large crowd would attend the meeting to discuss the President riverboat project on Tower Lake, the special meeting was scheduled to be held at the Phillips Building, instead of St. Elmo City Hall.

The meeting agenda was posted at City Hall, online and sent to area media outlets, but it was not posted at the Phillips Building. City Clerk Lynne Helsel said a citizen launched a complaint that the agenda not being posted at the meeting place was a violation of the Open Meetings Act and threatened to sue the city if the meeting was held.

Mayor Larry Tish contacted Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office for advice, who informed him by e-mail that not posting the agenda at the location 48 hours in advance of the meeting would indeed be a violation of the Open Meetings Act.

“We would advise a public body that finds itself in such a situation to avoid the potential violation by postponing the meeting in order to properly post the notice,” Assistant Public Access Counselor Amanda Lundeen said in her e-mail to Tish.

Helsel posted the cancellation notice at the Phillips Building around 6:30 p.m., 30 minutes before the meeting was scheduled to begin.

Several people had already shown up at the building for the meeting and expressed disappointment at not getting to discuss the riverboat project. The meeting has not been rescheduled.

The council was to discuss a motion to support the President riverboat project the council passed in a 4-2 vote earlier in the month. Mayor Tish later vetoed that action. Also on the agenda was discussion of a grant for Tower Lake.

Angie Faller can be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 131 or angie.faller@effinghamdailynews.com.