Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Off to Court UPDATED 3X

Mt. Lebanon has decided to appeal the Office of Open Records Final Determination. I just read about it in the Post Gazette. Mt. Lebanon to appeal open records decision regarding landowners' addresses, deer management program

I sent an email with the link to this article to the Office of Open Records and copied Phil Weis. I was not notified of this decision. I asked the attorney who made the final determination if she had been notified, as required. I'll let you know what I hear.

Update December 2, 2015 4:21 PM Boy, Susan Morgans must be in her glory. She even contacted the Trib with the news. Mt. Lebanon to appeal order to release deer cull records She never tells Rick Wills anything.

Update December 2, 2015 7:38 PM The hunters are all over this. I had this email exchange yesterday.

From: dewrite <dewrite@comcast.net>
To: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
Sent: Tue, Dec 1, 2015 3:22 pm
Subject: Re: interview



Hi, Elaine - No relation to the Weisbergs you mentioned. I found you through coverage of the open records matter. As I understand it, Mt. Lebo refused to provide names of property owners you sought, so you successfully appealed to state open records to force Mt. Lebo to provide you with copies of emails that might contain those names?


To: "dewrite" <dewrite@comcast.net>
Sent: Tuesday, December 1, 2015 2:24:32 PM
Subject: Re: interview

A day? 
I grew up with ....................... Weisberg in Mt. Lebanon. Any relation?
How did you find me?
Elaine


-----Original Message-----
From: dewrite <dewrite@comcast.net>
To: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
Sent: Tue, Dec 1, 2015 2:18 pm
Subject: Re: interview

Elaine - sorry to hear you are ill. I'd prefer a phone interview over an email interview. But if no one responds, that may be our only option. How much time should I give awaiting a response>?


To: "dewrite" <dewrite@comcast.net>
Sent: Tuesday, December 1, 2015 1:26:41 PM
Subject: Re: interview

Hi Deborah,

Thank you for contacting me. Unfortunately, I have a bad case of bronchitis and have no voice. Can you email me? Or if you want to do a phone interview, I have blind copied some people and they can respond if they want to do a phone interview with you.

Thanks.

Elaine Gillen


-----Original Message-----
From: dewrite <dewrite@comcast.net>
To: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
Sent: Tue, Dec 1, 2015 1:17 pm
Subject: interview

Hi, Ellen - I'd like to interview you about the deer cull for Pennsylvania Outdoor News. Are you available for a phone interview? Thanks. Deborah Weisberg

*****

While I'm on the subject of Right To Knows, here is more crap from Mt. Lebanon.
I filed a Right To Know the other day for all the emails that Coleen Vuono emailed to me while she was in office, from both her personal email account and her mtlebanon.org account. Here is the response I got today.

So then I sent this:

From: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
To: bcross <bcross@mtlebanon.org>
Cc: philip.weis <philip.weis@bipc.com>; kmcgill <kmcgill@mtlebanon.org>; repmiller <repmiller@pahouse.net>
Sent: Wed, Dec 2, 2015 5:35 pm

Subject: Legal review

Bonnie,

Let me get this straight. You need a legal review to see if the emails that Coleen Vuono SENT TO ME are public information. I just want duplicate copies to what Coleen has already sent to me, to make certain that I have not inadvertently deleted any of them. Do you seriously need to do a legal review?

Elaine Gillen

Update December 3, 2015 12:22 PM When did this place get so ugly? I heard back from Bonnie Cross.

From: Bonnie Cross <bcross@mtlebanon.org>
To: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
Cc: Weis, Philip <philip.weis@bipc.com>; Keith Mcgill <kmcgill@mtlebanon.org>; repmiller <repmiller@pahouse.net>
Sent: Thu, Dec 3, 2015 9:46 am
Subject: Re: Legal review

Ms. Gillen,

Yes. We believe at least some of the records you requested are not public records, will fit within an exception, or will require redaction.

Regards,

Bonnie Cross

On Wed, Dec 2, 2015 at 5:35 PM, egillen476@aol.com <egillen476@aol.com> wrote:
Bonnie,

Let me get this straight. You need a legal review to see if the emails that Coleen Vuono SENT TO ME are public information. I just want duplicate copies to what Coleen has already sent to me, to make certain that I have not inadvertently deleted any of them. Do you seriously need to do a legal review?

Elaine Gillen


--
Bonnie Cross
Assistant to the Manager
Mt. Lebanon, PA



10 comments:

Unknown said...

It's only a matter of time before all this bullshit catches up with them. All evil empires fall, eventually. We continue to stand with you, Elaine.

Anonymous said...

totally unbelievable.. just to appease a selfish few garden ladies.

Anonymous said...

Elaine. Everyone seems to portraying u as after names but aren't you more interested in properties and process info?

Lebo Citizens said...

Before the PG deletes Jason's latest comment (they seem to be doing that a lot),I am posting it here.

Jason Margolis
Hey, here's something else strange. If the meeting occurred in Executive Session today, how did this information go from Executive Session --> Susan Morgans --> The Press so quickly? Don't you go into Executive Session because the matter needs to be private, for legal or human resource-related issues? If that's the case--then why the quick leak? Who benefits from that leak? Is that leak even allowed?

Elaine

Unknown said...

It does seem strange, even for Mt. Lebanon. The muni didn't actually FILE an appeal, correct? When they file, it goes to press. Not before.

Anonymous said...

Good point, Jason. What did they GAIN from leaking this before the appeal is filed? I think at the very least, they are trying to frighten Elaine. This is not atypical at all for them; they will put things in the paper in an effort to create more controversy and to intimidate. Intimidation does usually work... but not on Elaine.

Anonymous said...

"Official action on discussions held pursuant to subsection (a) [Executive session provision] shall be taken at an open meeting …"

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/LI/consCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&ttl=65&div=0&chpt=7&sctn=8&subsctn=0

They need to vote to appeal... in an open meeting... right?

Anonymous said...

http://www.adamswatersheds.org/images/openmeetrecords.pdf

Anonymous said...


"While discussion on legal matters can occur in executive sessions, any official action based on those discus- sions must be taken at an open meeting. A township board of supervisors authorized filing an appeal of a deci- sion by a zoning hearing board at an executive session. The township never adopted or ratified this decision at a subsequent open meeting. A county court ruled this failure by the township was a violation of the Sunshine Act".

Heidelberg Township v. Heidelberg Township Zoning Hearing Board, 106 York 26, 1992.

I hope they file before the next commission meeting! :-)

Barbara S. said...

I must differ with the assumptions made by several who think the "leak" was intended for Elaine's detriment. If they know ANYTHING, they know they can't intimidate Elaine!

I think, rather, that this is an early and well-publicized attempt by Mt. Lebanon to calm any angst being felt by the folks whose land will be "hunted" yet again when the archery tragedy resumes and, perhaps more importantly, to shore-up any erosion they are fearful about in the group of folks who have "donated" (I LOVE that word!) their land for the coveted "sharpshooting" event, yet to come.

If you simply employ Conspiracy Theory assumptions to everything Mt. Lebanon does, I think you just can't go wrong...