The Franklin Common Council did NOT take any vote during closed session at its March 18, 2008 Common Council meeting pertaining to the 27th Street Corridor, and that includes the name “Boomgaard District.” (See G-14 on Page 4)
I discovered that information today during a teleconference with Franklin City Attorney Jesse Wesolowski and Franklin Alderman Steve Olson, both of whom were behind closed doors during that closed session.
Wesolowski told me during the teleconference that because he represents the Franklin Common Council, he could not violate attorney/client confidentiality. However, he said that any Common Council member who wished to discuss what happened in closed session could do so.
“I think he (Kevin) wants to know if a vote was taken,” Wesolowski said to Olson.
Olson replied immediately that he had no trouble answering that question.
“No vote was ever taken,” said Olson on "Boomgaard" or anything else.
Olson also told me that he has known Wesolowski since 1991 and he has never known Wesolowski, whom he called a “stickler,” to ever violate the Open Meetings Law.
This is why the nickname could be referred back to the Steering Committee for further study so easily. There was no vote by the Franklin Common Council to officially reconsider.
I believe City Attorney Wesolowski and Alderman Olson.
Erroneous blogs, fueled once again by unsubstantiated rumor and opinion rather than fact on this “vote” of which there is no record of ever taking place have led to other erroneous discussions in reader forums and on talk radio. Stirring up controversy just to prop oneself up and accumulate blog hits is irresponsible.
Believing earlier blogs to be true, I did post in a few of my entries that the Franklin Common Council voted in support of the name, “Boomgaard.” This information is not true. I regret that I wrote it in some of my blogs on this topic and retract those statements and encourage other bloggers to do the same.
I also believe the Franklin Common Council is on solid ground having gone into closed session.
Please direct your attention to Page 18 of the “Wisconsin Open Records Law Compliance Guide” written last year by Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen. Look at #4 under the section, “When is it permissible to convene into closed session?”
Let’s review:
The Franklin Common Council, I believe went into closed session legally on March 18, 2008 to discuss the 27th Street Corridor.
NO, I repeat, NO vote was taken on the name “Boomgaard” or any other matter.
Thus, there was no violation of the Open Meetings Law.
The fact that no vote was taken allowed the "Boomgaard" matter to be referred back to committee.
Once again, someone tried to pass off wild speculation as fact on these blogs. It turned out to be false, leading me to wonder what other opinions that we've been fed are inaccurate. I doubt we’ll get an apology or retraction from that individual.
This doesn’t change my position that has been mischaracterized so I’ll repeat it once more. I don’t like the name “Boomgaard” and the public should have been given an opportunity to be involved in the naming process, an invitation they would have accepted with great enthusiasm.
However, there is no justification to continue to report that the Franklin Common Council voted in closed session to support the name “Boomgaard,” and in doing so, violated the Open Meetings Law.
They did no such thing.
That’s a fact, something I hope to read more of in future blogs on this topic.
