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LEBANON, Maine - Maine's Public Access Ombudsmen said on Tuesday she would be reviewing a videotape of last Thursday's selectmen's meeting to see if there were any Open Meeting or public access concerns.
The two most likely areas of concern would be that the door was closed to the meeting room denying residents listening in the lobby the ability to hear what was said inside selectmen's chambers, and that the tape was ordered turned off by a single selectman after an altercation occurred between a town resident and the town's appeals board chair.
Brenda Kielty, the state's Public Access ombudsmen, said while the two areas of concern can be viewed in the last minute of the 16:50 tape, "there's a process" that has to be followed in a situation like this and it might take several days to determine if there were any concerns and what remedies might be available.
She said she would likely be following up with the town's attorney and selectmen.
Kielty also suggested that the town develop rules that would govern when and by whose authority a public access live-streaming video might be shut off during a meeting.
The Maine Legislature created a Public Access Ombudsman position to review complaints about compliance with the Freedom of Access Act and attempt to mediate their resolution, as well as answer calls from the public, media and government agencies about the requirements of the law. Interestingly, Thursday's shutdown of a live streaming selectmen's meeting was the second such occurrence in two weeks.
Selectboard Chair Chuck Russell turned the live stream video off at the 33:30 mark of the Aug. 6 meeting when former town selectperson and state rep Karen Gerrish complained about receiving several unwanted private Facebook messages from Russell's wife.
Meanwhile, State Troopers continue to investigate an alleged altercation that occurred on Thursday between town resident Teri Poirier and appeals board chair Deborah Dorey Wilson, who attempted to close the selectmen's room under protest from Poirier who stood in her way.
Poirier, who was listening to the meeting through the open door to the lobby, said the ruckus began when she heard Russell tell Wilson to close the door.
"You can't close the door, it's a public meeting," she says on the videotape.
The live-streamed YouTube feed shows the incident unfolding at the 16-minute mark.
After Wilson approached the door to shut it, Poirier said she leaned up against the door to keep it open and was violently chest-bumped by Wilson.
"You wanna get in my face?" Wilson said as she fronted up to Poirier just prior to the altercation.
"I went up to the door to keep the door open," Poirier said. "She came at me, chest bumped me, and pinned me between her and the door. She then reached up over the door and tried to pull the door shut with me still standing in the way."
During the commotion Poirier yells, "Get off of me, get off of me" and a few seconds later, "That's assault, that's assault."
Poirier's body is mostly out of camera view once the altercation begins.
She said the incident left her with a sore right foot from being folded backwards. A person at the meeting helped separate them.
The live streaming video was shut down during the melee after Selectmen's Secretary Lynn Davis-Gilmore was told to do so at the direction of Selectman Paul Philbrick.
Philbrick said he made the decision to turn off the live feed on his own.
"I take the responsibility for having the camera turned off," he told The Rochester Voice.
Philbrick said he made the move to "calm down the situation," but his voice is inaudible as he points to the video hardware and directs Davis-Gilmore to turn it off.
State troopers who investigated the assault claims have not returned phone calls or emails from The Rochester Voice regarding the probe.
To view the meeting's altercation go to the 16-minute mark. The video can be viewed here.
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