Gunstock commissioners seek in-person court hearing, saying it will enable more public attendance

GILFORD — Gunstock commissioners are asking that an upcoming court session in their legal action to stop the Belknap County Delegation from removing three commissioners be held in person, and are rejecting as spurious the delegation’s insistence that, due to COVID, it be held online.

A hearing has been scheduled for Dec. 23 to consider the Gunstock Area Commission’s request for a preliminary injunction against the delegation which commissioners argue ​”​from summarily removing three of the five GAC Commissioners from office without cause and without due process,” according to a motion filed in Belknap Superior Court Tuesday. The motion further alleges that the intended removal of the three commissioners is “in unlawful retaliation” for the commissioners’ attempt to remove one commissioner “for actual misconduct.”

The target of the commissioners’ removal effort was Commissioner Peter Ness. The three current commissioners who sought to oust him from the five-member panel were Commission Chair Brian Gallagher, Vice Chair Gary Kiedaisch, and member Rusty McLear.

In their motion the commissioners requested that the time for the hearing be extended from 30 minutes to one hour because of “the complex nature of the legal issues surrounding this matter.”

While the delegation agreed to a longer hearing, according to the motion, it turned down the request that the hearing be held in-person because to do so would increase the chance of COVID transmission.

The commissioners allege in their motion that the delegation’s stated rationale is insincere, and its real motivation is to have the proceedings take place in such a way that fewer members of the public will observe.

“(The) Delegation has a well-documented history of disregarding all COVID precautionary measures such as mask use,” the motion reads. “Thus, the Delegation’s desire to avoid an in-person hearing is a clear attempt to suppress the public’s right to attend this hearing which has considerable public interest and importance.”

The motion includes a screenshot and a photograph from the delegation meeting on Nov. 16 showing the lawmakers unmasked and not practicing social-distancing.

The meeting, which was attended by about 130 members of the public, had initially been called to discuss the removal of Gallagher, Kiedaisch, and McLear. But three days before, the delegation backed off, and announced that the only action it would take at the meeting would be hiring an attorney to defend it in the matter.

The commissioners state in their motion that an in-person proceeding will make it easier for them to confer with their lawyer during the hearing.

”This is essential because it is impossible for counsel to contemporaneously communicate with their client during a live Webex video conference,” the motion states.

Moreover, an in-person session is essential because of the public’s “desire to attend this hearing.”

As it now stands the hearing is to be held on the WebEx teleconferencing platform which has been used for some court proceedings since last year because of COVID.

Members of the public are able to view and listen to WebEx hearings by sending a request to the court, according to instructions posted on the court’s website. To register a person has to send a request to the appropriate court after 4 p.m. the day before the hearing is scheduled to take place. Those requesting online access to a hearing will then receive an email invitation from the court and then click on the link to join the session, preferably 10 minutes before the proceeding is scheduled to get underway.

“Simply put, there is no evidence and thus no reason to believe the Delegation harbors legitimate concern over COVID transmission,” the commissioners argue in their motion. “It has offered no other reason it opposes holding an in-person hearing, which would normally be scheduled for this type of case.”