North Little Rock commission's emailed vote questioned

Panel OKs loan, but some say nonpublic meeting illegal

North Little Rock Advertising and Promotion commissioners voted by email this week to approve a loan for improvements at the city-owned Downtown Riverside RV Park, seen here from the Clinton Presidential Park Bridge.
North Little Rock Advertising and Promotion commissioners voted by email this week to approve a loan for improvements at the city-owned Downtown Riverside RV Park, seen here from the Clinton Presidential Park Bridge.

A vote conducted through email by the North Little Rock Advertising and Promotion Commission members to approve a development loan drew differing opinions Wednesday on whether the voting procedure violated the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.

The vote by email Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday had been requested by commission Executive Director Bob Major to expedite approval for a five-year, $125,000 loan for improvements at the city-owned Downtown Riverside RV Park at 50 Riverfront Drive.

Each commissioner's vote was emailed to both Major and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette at Major's request. The executive director also emailed notification of the requested action to the newspaper before the commission's vote.

When asked about the procedure that was followed, Tres Williams, communications director for the Arkansas Press Association, said that because the meeting wasn't at a physical location, the public wasn't provided an opportunity for access, as required by the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.

"I think it's bogus and completely violates the FOIA," Williams said. "That's just generally not the way to run a meeting within the confines of the FOIA."

Clarke T̶u̶r̶n̶e̶r̶ Tucker*, an attorney representing the press association, agreed that conducting a vote in that manner isn't allowed.

"They would have to officially meet in order to vote on anything," Tucker said. "I understand where they were coming from in trying to get this done. It seems to me they weren't trying to hide anything because they were copying [the newspaper].

"I think they would be in better shape to have one person at a meeting and hold a conference call for those who could not be at the meeting," he said.

North Little Rock City Attorney Jason Carter disagreed, saying he considered the commission's vote to be valid.

"When I try to guide the city, I'm not as concerned with what I think might be proper or appropriate," Carter said. "It's what's legal and what's not legal. I'm cognizant of the fact that technology changes the world that we live in."

On Tuesday, Major emailed commissioners and the Democrat-Gazette that a special meeting set for 3:30 p.m. Wednesday was canceled because of scheduling conflicts among commissioners.

In the email, Major explained the loan request, and, though there isn't a deadline for applying for the loan, he asked commissioners to reply with a yes or no vote by 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. All seven commissioners, including Mayor Joe Smith and Aldermen Maurice Taylor and Charlie Hight, voted yes in their individual emails.

While the Freedom of Information Act requires regular meetings to be held at a specified time and place, Carter opined that special meetings can be conducted electronically as long as the press receives notification and is allowed the same access as any participant.

"Using technology facilitates making a decision quickly, with minimum interruption to the lives of volunteer commissioners in order to gather and meet," Carter said. "I like the email communication because it creates a record that is easily retrievable."

Major said Wednesday that he believed that the email vote "was legal" because the media was copied on the individual votes. If the vote is deemed to be improper, he said, he will try to schedule a new special meeting to revote. The commission's next regular meeting isn't until July 19. The commission meets quarterly.

The proposed work at the RV park would include installing concrete pads at the 63 full hookups.

"I was just trying to get my commissioners on board and get [the loan] approved so we could continue to move forward with improvements down there in the park as we're able to do it," Major said. "We're getting into vacation season for a lot of folks, and I want to get [the pads] in place. We have too many people who now complain about the mud and the rocks down there."

Metro on 05/19/2016

*CORRECTION: Clarke Tucker is an attorney representing the Arkansas Press Association. His name appeared incorrectly in this article.

Upcoming Events