At the City Council meeting held on Tuesday, Sept. 6, Council approved the release of transcripts from a closed session meeting that occurred on November 23, 2020. The purpose of this closed session was to discuss the threat of a lawsuit related to the Elmhurst Extended Care Development Project.
At Tuesday night’s meeting, Mayor Levin commented on the reasoning behind the 2020 closed session, stating that it was warranted based of the threat of a pending lawsuit, an exception under the state’s open meeting laws.
After the Public Access Counselor’s (PAC) non-binding decision for the City to release the minutes and recording, the City requested to re-review the case. After this review, the PAC reconfirmed its initial decision. The City attorney was consulted to discuss the attorney general’s final non-binding decision. The conclusion was made that the costs associated with the lawsuit would not benefit the City, and that the transcripts should be released.
Furthermore, the Mayor stated that City Council takes pride in following open meeting laws and carefully analyzes the purpose of warranting closed session meetings. Although the City believes that this scenario warranted the closed session, Council determined that it was in the best interest of the community that the records be released to avoid litigation costs.
The transcript records were released on Wednesday, Sept. 7.
