Legality of MMA trustees executive session questioned
By Colin Powell/Castine Patriot

Besides mentioning a walkthrough of the school's new property, there was almost nothing said about the controversial purchase of the Abbott House at the November 9 meeting of the Maine Maritime Academy Board of Trustees.

There was also no mention of the legal action the town has taken against the school about the intended use of the property. When the board entered into an executive session for "legal matters," the community members who had come to represent the recently formed Castine Citizens Action Group said they could only guess the topic was the pending lawsuit. Asked what the general topic of the legal issue was, board Chairman Victoria Larson apologized and said, "We don't have to say."

According to the Maine Press Association's legal counsel Jonathan Piper of Preti Flaherty in Portland, the board does have to explain. "They can't go into executive session to discuss legal matters without an attorney present, and they must quote a subsection [of the executive sessions statute] before entering," said Piper in a phone interview. 

Executive sessions are covered in MSRA Title 1, Chapter 13, Subchapter 1, §405. The law states, "A motion to go into executive session must indicate the precise nature of the business of the executive session and include a citation of one or more sources of statutory or other authority that permits an executive session for that business."

Furthermore, immediately following the session, the board voted on a motion to reconsider the minutes of the August meeting which had already been approved at the beginning of the meeting. Piper explained that any action items that come as a result of an executive session must be publicly discussed before a motion can be made. Piper also said that reconsidering minutes, which had already been made a part of the public record, after an executive session strongly indicates that the minutes were discussed during the session. This action is not allowed under Maine's executive session statute, which explicitly defines what may be discussed.

Treasurer Harrison Richardson then made a motion to table the minutes for discussion at the next meeting of the trustees. 

The August minutes were of concern to the Castine Citizens Action Group as their representative, the Rev. James Whittemore, read a statement to the board. "We have thoroughly searched the minutes of recent board meetings," said Whittemore, "and can find no record of a board vote on the purchase of the Abbott House."

Formed by community members, the Citizens Action Group's stated purpose is using the controversial purchase of the Abbott House to open new lines of communication with the academy. Over a dozen members of the group were present at the Trustees' meeting when Whittemore was allowed three minutes to address the board. In his prepared statement, Whittemore stated the group's primary concerns. 

As his final concern, Whittemore said, "Castine on-neck is essentially an island with limited land and, therefore, limited natural resources. If Maine Maritime Academy fails to recognize the fragility of this small ‘island' and the trustees place a greater importance on academy growth than respect for town laws and their intent, the unique character of Castine will be lost for ever." 

Whittemore, speaking for the group, stated that the situation would be corrected if the school divested itself of the Abbott House property. "What is needed is a balanced…relationship between the town and the academy," he concluded.