Members of the Barton County Commission last Tuesday morning violated the Kansas Open Meetings Act when they visited the Road and Bridge Department shop, Commission Chairman Kenny Schremmer said Monday morning. Three of the five commissioners inadvertently met at the shop to learn about the controversial heating and air conditioning project.
“I had no idea that three of us were going to walk in,” Schremmer said. He got to the facility at about 10:30 a.m. and shortly thereafter, commissioners Don Davis and Homer Kruckenberg also individually arrived.
“This was not planned,” he said. However, “I apologize to the people here and to our constituents” and the matter would be reported to Barton County Attorney Doug Matthews.
Both Davis and Kruckenberg concurred with Schremmer in that they all accidentally wound up at the shop simultaneously.
Any gathering of a majority of a public governing body that deals with business of that body constitutes a public meeting, according to the KOMA. Generally speaking, this requires public notification prior to the gathering.