Legality of records meeting ques

Loudon County Public Records Commission met in a special called session Thursday to discuss the fate of hundreds of boxes of public records recovered from the basement of the Loudon County Courthouse following a 2019 fire.

In opening remarks, Chairwoman Pat Hunter questioned the legitimacy of the meeting, which was called by Vice Chairman Adam Waller. Under Roberts Rules of Order and state guidelines, the meeting should have been called by the chair, unless otherwise allowed by the commission’s bylaws, she said.

Since there are no charters or resolutions specifying exceptions to standard rules of order, Waller did not have the authority to call the meeting, Hunter said.

She referenced email exchanges between herself and members of the commission that indicated the meeting was being called because there was an urgency associated with removing public records from storage before the county’s insurance company would cease paying for storage of those records.

In the email exchange, Waller referred to his inability to contact Hunter and his concern about the deadline to make a decision about the records.

Hunter claimed a report in the News-Herald, which indicated records had to be removed from storage by Jan. 23, had prompted Waller to call the meeting. Hunter, who said the records had to be removed by “January ‘23,” was misunderstood to mean Jan. 23.

Hunter said she had since learned from the county purchasing department the deadline to remove the records is January 2024, which she said eliminated the urgency.

The important question before the board was how to finish the inventory of records, which would require county department heads to decide which records could be saved or destroyed, Hunter said. Forms signed by department heads would have to be filed in Nashville and approved by the commission before any records could be destroyed, she said.

Van Shaver, commission member, asked to add to the meeting’s agenda the election of new officers. Hunter said the agenda for special called meetings could not be amended, adding that no elections should be held until new members of the commission are seated.

Commissioner Hank Sledge suggested the commission vote on whether to make the session an actual meeting. Commission members Shaver, Waller, Sledge, Riley Wampler, Darrell Tuck and Tammi Gallaher voted in favor of the meeting. Hunter voted “no.”

Waller next nominated Shaver as secretary for the commission. Hunter nominated Wampler, who declined the nomination because he said he is still acclimating to the county clerk position he was elected to in August. With Tuck abstaining and Hunter voting against, Shaver was elected secretary.

Shaver then nominated Waller as chairman, emphasizing he wasn’t being critical of Hunter’s service. Tuck then nominated Hunter for the position.

With Wampler abstaining, Waller, Shaver and Sledge voted for Waller, while Hunter, Tuck and Gallaher sided with Hunter. Shaver called for another vote to break the tie. He also suggested Waller and Hunter could serve as co-chairs.

Sledge said he thought it would be a good idea to have new members of the commission seated before taking any more votes on officers. Hunter said she would welcome a vote after new members were installed.

Sledge added that he thought county department heads should be held responsible for examining records and making decisions on what should be saved or destroyed.

Hunter said as much as 80% of the records in storage had been reviewed by department heads. She said she believed most of the stored records did not need to be saved.

Before adjourning the meeting, Hunter asked that the commission hear from the public. Among those who commented, all were for preserving history.

Carolyn Ritchie, author of “Last Stand at Fork Creek,” a book about the seizure of land by the federal government to build Tellico Lake, said she had trouble sourcing records for her book because many were not available.

Others said they wanted to make sure records were preserved and accessible to the public in Americans With Disabilities Act compliant facilities.

Waller said the records under consideration for destruction were not valuable historic documents.

“We’re talking about car registrations from the 1970s,” Waller said.

Tellico Village resident Richard Anklin said he thought the meeting was not legal. He said under state law the records commission should have one county commissioner on the panel. Shaver and Waller are both members of Loudon County Commission.

Shaver said state guidelines indicate there should be one county commissioner on the records commission but do not preclude more than one.