Despite Sylvia's objections, emergency delegation meeting legally valid, says county attorney

LACONIA — Less than four hours before Monday night’s emergency meeting of the Belknap County Delegation to remove Gunstock Area Commission Acting Chair David Strang, a Union Leader reporter on Twitter quoted delegation Chair Rep. Mike Sylvia as saying that only the chair is able to call emergency meetings, and that a quorum of the delegation may only call a non-emergency meeting. County Attorney Andrew Livernois, however, believes the meeting to be valid and legal.

The meeting, Sylvia said, is therefore “defective” because it did not receive seven days’ notice.

If true, this would mean that there would have to be an announcement seven days in advance of the meeting and that, according to Sylvia, any action taken during Monday’s meeting would be void.

County Attorney Andrew Livernois released a letter addressed to Sylvia, the entire county delegation, and the county commissioners, at 2:47 p.m. Monday. Sylvia could not immediately be reached for comment. 

“I have been asked by a number of the members of the Belknap County Delegation to provide my legal opinion regarding whether a majority of the members of the Delegation can convene an emergency meeting of the Delegation to deal with the pressing situation at Gunstock Ski Area,” the letter reads.

“Specifically, I was asked whether an emergency meeting to consider the appointment of a replacement member of the Gunstock Area Commission (to replace former Commissioner Ness and/or Kiedaisch) would be legally valid.”

Livernois, based on his reading of RSA 91:A — which governs the freedom of information and appropriate notice for public meetings — and RSA 24:9 — which addresses meetings of the county conventions — concluded that the meeting is legally valid.

“This is not an area where there is any clear legal authority, either in statutes or in caselaw. Thus, this is a bit of a ‘grey area.’ However, I nonetheless believe that there is a strong argument to be made that such a meeting would be legal and binding. And furthermore, I do not think that any legal challenge to such a meeting, if brought, would succeed in overturning it,” Livernois wrote. 

He continued: “The question is thus whether the provisions in RSA 91-A which allow for emergency meetings to be called on shorter notice would apply in a situation where the County Convention is faced with an emergency. I believe that the answer to that question is ‘yes'.”

Livernois also noted that, “The Supreme Court has made clear that in situations where the County Convention mistakenly holds a meeting that was improperly noticed, the defect can later be cured by simply posting another meeting within the statutory deadlines, and then having the members ratify their prior decision.”

During Sunday’s GAC meeting, Rep. Harry Bean said he had the votes of a majority of the delegation to hold an emergency meeting to, if he had not resigned, remove Strang from the commission and appoint a temporary commissioner to maintain a quorum of the GAC. 

The GAC voted, with Strang in dissent, to rehire the management immediately upon the removal or resignation of Strang. Strang said he would “be happy to” tender his resignation if the delegation would be able to appoint a third member and prevent the GAC from losing its quorum.

Over the weekend and prior to Sunday’s meeting, Sylvia released a statement saying that he had instructed Strang not to resign. 

During the Sunday GAC meeting, Commissioner Doug Lambert said he had run the plan for Monday’s meeting, removal of Strang and rehiring of the management, past the commission’s attorney, former Attorney General Joe Foster. Lambert said Foster had seen no problems with the course of action.