Constituent questions legality of planned delegation meeting

LACONIA — Belknap County Legislative Delegation Chairman Mike Sylvia sent an email to a constituent and the county administrator on Monday, explaining why he will hold an in-person meeting Tuesday even as the COVID-19 pandemic surges.

“There is and has always been risk in attending a public meeting,” he states in the email. “Would you have us shutdown the government altogether?”

Meredith resident Richard DeMark questioned the legality of holding a solely in-person meeting. An attorney for the county also recommended providing an option for people to participate remotely.

County Administrator Debra Shackett said the meeting room is too small to allow for social distancing. Gov. Chris Sununu has put in place an order requiring face masks when social distance can’t be maintained.

“We can probably accommodate 5 or 6 audience members with 6 feet around them,” Shackett said. But she added in an interview that the number of attendees will not be restricted to allow for social distancing.

It also won’t be possible to watch the proceedings on television.

“The cable company will not attend to record the meeting because we can’t assure them that there will be compliance with the Governor’s order,” she said.

Sylvia said he doesn’t believe in masks and won’t be wearing one. He’s among a small group of representatives who expressed an interest in impeaching Sununu for his actions during the pandemic, including the mask mandate.

In his email to DeMark, Sylvia said that having a remote meeting risks disenfranchising members of the delegation and others who lack technological resources. He also said remote meetings do not provide contemporaneous communications necessary to fulfill the Right-To-Know law.

In fact, remote meetings are legally allowed, many public bodies have been holding them and they have been encouraged by the state as a way to prevent spreading the virus.

Attorney Paul Fitzgerald said in his opinion for the county that a court, if asked, could block a meeting held solely in person if someone made the argument that their right to participate was chilled because of the format.

Some public bodies have staged a physical meeting with a remote option, so nobody is left out, said DeMark, of Meredith.

“I believe my rights to participate in the December 8, 2020, 6 p.m Belknap County Delegation Meeting are being infringed due to the lack of an opportunity to exercise my right to participate remotely or safely,” he stated.

DeMark also stated that Sylvia may be acting illegally if he does not provide for public participation and public safety.

“Short of this, I believe that the Chairman of the Belknap County Delegation may be acting contrary to Title LXII, Criminal Code Chapter 643, Abuse of Office, Section 643:1, Official Oppression.”