Public Meeting Secrets

Understanding Oregon's Public Meeting Law

The OSU College of Forestry has held lots of secret meetings to decide the fate of the Elliott State Forest. As part of an elaborate process to determine the Elliott Forest's fate, OSU has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of State Lands that makes it an official part of the State Land Board's process to decide: Should the Elliott State Forest remain under the State Land Board control, or should it be transferred to Oregon State University as a research forest?

Why do I say these meetings were secret? Because they weren't announced, and the public could not attend or comment. So from the public viewpoint, there is no question these planning meetingswere being held in secret.

I am not a lawyer, so I'm cautious whenever I read Oregon's Laws. But from where I sit, Oregon's Public Meeting Law suggests the DSL and OSU advisory groups should follow Oregon's Public Meeting Law as they go about helping to decide the Elliott Forest's fate. Take a moment to read ORS 192.620 in the box nearby; then read the definition of a "Public body" below.

192.610 Definitions for ORS 192.610 to 192.690.

As used in ORS 192.610 to 192.690:

1. 1. "Decision" means any determination, action, vote or final disposition upon a motion, proposal, resolution, order, ordinance or measure on which a vote of a governing body is required, at any meeting at which a quorum is present.

   2. "Executive session" means any meeting or part of a meeting of a governing body which is closed to certain persons for deliberation on certain matters.

   3. "Governing body" means the members of any public body which consists of two or more members, with the authority to make decisions for or recommendations to a public body on policy or administration.

   4. "Public body" means the state, any regional council, county, city or district, or any municipal or public corporation, or any board, department, commission, council, bureau, committee or subcommittee or advisory group or any other agency thereof.

   5. "Meeting" means the convening of a governing body of a public body for which a quorum is required in order to make a decision or to deliberate toward a decision on any matter. " Meeting" does not include any on-site inspection of any project or program. "Meeting" also does not include the attendance of members of a governing body at any national, regional or state association to which the public body or the members belong.

An example secret meeting

As I was writing this page, I received the following email message from the College of Forestry's acting dean:

From: Davis, Anthony S <anthony.davis@oregonstate.edu>

Date: Wed, May 27, 2020 at 8:28 AM

Subject: Re: Deciding how to manage the Elliott State Forest

To: Dave and Barb Sullivan <drdavesullivan@gmail.com>

Cc: Collins, Michael <Michael.Collins@oregonstate.edu>

Hi Dave,

Thanks again for reaching out and sharing your ideas about how to collaborate with the Science Advisory Panel. As you know, I recently charged the OSU-led Science Advisory Panel to support “the development of an inclusive vision for the Elliott State Research Forest that emphasizes long-term discovery and transformation of research capacity in forest ecosystems.”

Our next meeting with the Science Advisory Panel is scheduled for Friday, May 29, and we will be discussing the process that the panel will use to receive and share comments, questions, and information from the public. We will also discuss how we want to share updates about our progress, work, and the data we utilized to make decisions.

If you have additional thoughts, questions, or ideas, please email elliott.research@oregonstate.edu to ensure they will be reviewed by me, the Science Advisory Panel, and my team. Following the meeting on May 29, I’ll send you an update and will post a recap of the meeting on our website.

Sincerely,

Anthony

ANTHONY S. DAVIS, PhD
Interim Dean

So the purpose of this meeting was quite ironic: to discuss in secret how to go about sharing information with the public. This seemed like an extraordinarily bad idea at two levels: legal and public relations.

From a legal viewpoint, when this Advisory Panel was established, Anthony Davis wrote:

While the Science Advisory Panel will not be writing our proposal to be delivered to the Land Board, we are asking they provide a critical level of review, and offer comments and advice prior to its final submission. The Science Advisory Panel will significantly enhance Oregon State University’s capacity in capturing the viewpoint of scientists of multiple institutions and disciplines. Doing so will potentially enable the Elliott to address forest ecosystem research needs that will benefit public and private land management in Oregon and across the west now and long into the future.

So the Science Advisory Panel has a critical role in helping OSU and DSL and the State Lands Board decide the Elliott Forest's fate, and based on the wording for the Oregon Public Meetings Law, this "advisory group" meets the definition of a "public body" and shouldn't be holding meetings in secret.

From a public relations viewpoint, holding secret meetings about research makes no sense. The requirements of Oregon's Public Meetings Law aren't difficult to meet, and they have readily understandable goals, so it seems like a real blunder to continue holding secret meetings about the Elliott. Science is supposed to allow competing research ideas be discussed openly ... not to be bottled up in secret meetings.

Admittedly, I was somewhat miffed at being excluded from having any role in this meeting. I am an expert in Information Systems, and at least part of the discussion will be about the ElliottArchives.Org and Elliottpedia.Org websites that I constructed. It didn't seem fair to discuss my work in secret without letting me listen in. A written "recap" also doesn't seem appropriate: since the meeting was be held via Zoom, a simple click of a button could have recorded the meeting for public posting.