Judge dismisses case against county delegation's Aug. 1 meeting, citing no harm from shorter meeting notice

A suit against the Belknap County Delegation brought by Stephen Peterson of Gilford, claiming an emergency meeting held in August was not properly noticed, was dismissed Tuesday by Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Leonard.

Peterson's suit was seeking to invalidate the decision to remove Dr. David Strang from the Gunstock Area Commission on the grounds that the action was taken at a meeting that violated the state Right-to-Know Law.

Leonard dismissed the case, saying the issues raised in the suit had already been resolved. Her ruling followed a hearing in Belknap Superior Court on Sept. 20.

Peterson filed the suit hours before the delegation was scheduled to meet on Aug. 1 to consider Strang’s removal from the GAC, as well as to appoint his replacement. A quorum of the delegation’s 18 members, led by state Rep. Harry Bean (R-Gilford), scheduled on July 31 an emergency meeting to deal with the matter. The group said there was an immediate urgency because Gunstock’s ability to provide all the necessary services for the large Soulfest music festival had been placed in jeopardy because the facility’s senior management had resigned days earlier.

Peterson's suit asked the court to stop the meeting from taking place, in order to prohibit the delegation from meeting until a meeting could be scheduled with the adequate advance public notice, and to nullify any actions taken in violation of the notice required by the Right-to-Know Law.

Peterson argued that only the delegation’s chair, which at that time was state Rep. Mike Sylvia (R-Belmont), had the authority to call an emergency meeting, and so the meeting being called by the quorum needed the standard advance notice of a minimum of seven days.

The delegation and County Administrator Debra Shackett were named as defendants.

The county sought to dismiss Shackett as a defendant in the case, arguing she has no authority over the public notice of delegation meetings which she is instructed to post.

In another motion, the county asked the suit be dismissed because regardless of whether there was sufficient advance notice of the Aug. 1 meeting, Peterson knew about the meeting ahead of time and could have attended the meeting had he chosen to do so. Moreover, the actions which the delegation took Aug. 1 were ratified at a meeting on Sept. 1, notice of which was made public Aug. 23.

The judge concluded that the Aug. 1 meeting did violate the seven-day notice period, but declined to invalidate Strang’s removal from the commission or any other decision at that meeting because the suit did not show how anyone had been harmed by the failure to give the proper amount of public notice.

“Peterson has not argued or alleged any facts to suggest that he or anyone else was in any way prejudiced by the Delegation’s deficiency in notice,” Leonard wrote in her decision. “... Even if Peterson had articulated prejudice ... the subsequent actions of the Delegation have cured this defect,” she added, referring to a 2010 state Supreme Court decision.

Strang had filed a motion to intervene in the Peterson suit. The judge said there was no point in ruling on that issue since she was dismissing Peterson’s suit.

Strang has sued the GAC over his removal. A hearing in that case is scheduled for Oct. 26.

Stephenson said he brought the suit in hopes of stopping the Aug. 1 from occurring.

He said that members of the delegation were being stampeded into taking action against Strang based on the claims of a “manufactured and make-believe crisis” promoted by Citizens for Belknap, a political action committee which is opposed to any major changes in the operation or management of Gunstock.

Peterson acknowledged he brought the suit in haste.

“It’s sort of like a water-over-the-dam situation,” he said Wednesday, adding that he has no plans to contest or appeal the ruling.

Peterson said the suit points to the lengths that some people have gone in their opposition to Strang and others who have been critical of the way Gunstock is being run, and that was what he was trying to fight against.

The county’s attorney in the matter, Paul Fitzgerald, was pleased with the ruling.

“We’re pleased for Ms. Shackett and the delegation. We hope another page is turned for the county and that there will be less litigation,” he said.