Councilor reveals potential open meeting violation

Not 30 minutes after drawing enthusiastic applause from residents in the gallery, Owatonna City Council member Dan Boeke was back on the defense – and revealed a potential open meeting violation.

He revisited the issue of the sale of the West Hills Lodge, a 1932 building on the north side of the campus. It is owned now by the Lee Foundation, which plans to sell it for $778,000.

The city had the right of first offer, which it declined at its June 16 meeting, clearing the way for another buyer.

Later in the meeting, Boeke called the lack of public interest in the transaction “hypocritical,” saying he didn’t hear from any residents about the property.

The building cannot be demolished or renovated without approval from the West Hills Commission, nor is another building being added to the site.

“If there were people interested … in being involved, if they were interested in transparency, there it was,” Boeke said. “Not a single peep.”

Then he talked about “our first budget kickoff” meeting, held June 15 – the day before the council meeting.

“Zero people here. Zero,” Boeke said. “Again, this has been advertised in all the Facebook and all the wherever we advertise our itinerary. If you want to be involved, get involved, but don’t get involved in just half of it.”

He went on to say the council members spent two hours on a budget, “zero public (input). So it’s hard for us to say, ‘here’s what we’re going to do’ … and no one’s been involved to see what we’re dealing with. I’m begging for help here.

“It’s a two-way street,” Boeke said, “and we can’t be so thin-skinned, especially up here, but we also can’t be that thin-skinned in the audience and (as) taxpayers when you get called out for something.”

In her comments moments later, City Administrator Jenna Tuma confirmed the budget meeting on June 15, saying it was recorded and would be on the city’s website “later this week if it’s not up already.”

Several people, including a Steele County Times reporter, checked the city’s website for the notice of the budget meeting. It was not on the city council’s landing page, which has a tab labeled “Agendas and Minutes.”

The site is the understood repository for the work of the city council – including the video recordings of many of the public meetings held.

It was also not found on the city’s calendar that night, nor was it posted on the city’s bulletin board.

Minnesota’s open meeting law requires at least three days of advance written notice for a special meeting – which is defined as a gathering of a public body outside its routine schedule.

Additionally, the notice must be posted on the public body’s principal bulletin board, or on the door of the usual meeting room if there is no bulletin board.

Owatonna City Council meetings are typically held the first and third Monday of every month; there are no regular budget meetings on the city’s schedule.

Tuma said in an email the next day that the meeting was posted on the city’s calendar, and attached a screen shot confirming it.

She said the council “reviewed some of the work we’ve been doing related to the 2027 budget, including the Financial Management Plan and the three focus areas the Council has set for staff.

“We also confirmed the priorities we should use to start developing this budget,” Tuma wrote. She included a PDF of the PowerPoint that was presented at the meeting.

After further questioning, Tuma on Monday sent a letter to the Times apologizing that “the meeting notice was not posted on the public bulletin board at the main entrance to the City Administration Building.”

She went on to take responsibility for the error, saying “it was inadvertent and not intended to violate the Open Meeting Law.”

Tuma also said in the email that the city plans to upgrade to a public electronic bulletin board “to assure this should not happen again.”

After the June 16 meeting, Boeke was confronted by resident Melissa Zimmerman, who asked him where the budget meeting information was posted.

“You can talk to Jenna,” Boeke said. “She said it was on there.”

When pushed for an answer, he told Zimmerman to call Tuma and ask her, “or call your attorneys, sue us again. Whatever.”

Zimmerman sent the city administrator an email the next day, as Boeke advised, attaching screenshots of the city’s Facebook page, calendar and meeting listings – none of which showed the budget meeting.

“Given the public criticism directed at residents for not attending this meeting, I believe it is important to understand what occurred, determine whether adequate public notice was provided, and ensure residents have a fair opportunity to participate in future discussions,” Zimmerman wrote.

“People shouldn’t have to check multiple places for this information,” she said late last week. “There should be one master place where the meetings and agendas and minutes are all listed.”

Zimmerman also received an email from Tuma on Monday; in a reply, Zimmerman said she believes “a public apology is warranted. Residents should not be faulted for failing to attend a meeting with the City has acknowledged that the meeting notice did not comply with the Open Meeting Law.”

Zimmerman has not sued the city, any city leaders or members of the city council.