From the Daily Camera (Boulder):

As Erie denied claims that trustees have held illegal meetings, First Amendment attorney Steven Zansberg maintained Wednesday that the town’s practices fall outside of Colorado’s open meetings laws.

Zansberg, of Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz, served a cease-and-desist letter to the town Tuesday on behalf of resident Aaron Harber, who is suing the town of Erie over his land parcel. The letter alleges that the Board of Trustees holds private meetings to discuss public business.

A note at the top of the town’s regular meeting agendas notifies the public of a “study session” beginning at 5:45 p.m. in the community room at Town Hall before the 6:30 p.m. meeting, but it does not include an agenda for the session. The community room is separate from the board room.

The note does not state that the study session is open to the public, who will be in attendance or details about what will be discussed.

Zansberg was unaware of the study session notice until after the cease-and-desist letter was sent, but he said it is not enough to follow the law.

“I would argue that it requires too much of the public to fill in a blank,” he said.

Town officials refused several requests for interviews and, instead, provided language from an email newsblast that the town sent Wednesday afternoon.

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