DNR ends board dinners under open records scrutiny

Nearly one month after a complaint was filed against the Department of Natural Resources over a possible violation of the open meetings law, the agency said Wednesday that it would no longer host social dinners for board members the night before regular meetings of the Natural Resources Board.

The action comes after citizens who unsuccessfully fought construction of a snowmobile trail in Blue Mound State Park filed a complaint in Dane County alleging the seven-member board violated state law when it met for dinner in January and discussed board matters before voting to approve a new master plan for the park.

The complaint was reported on Sept. 23 by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and other media outlets.

The park's new master plan called for the construction of a 1.4-mile trail and allowed for snowmobiling at Blue Mound for the first time in 20 years.

But in addition to shelving longstanding social dinners for board members, DNR spokesman Jim Dick said the board will once again take up the snowmobile issue, including taking additional public comment at its monthly board meeting in December.

Dick said DNR officials do not believe the agency violated the law when board members met for dinner because issues before the board are not discussed. Meetings of policy boards like the Natural Resources Board must be publicly noticed, according to state law.

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Nonetheless, Dick said in a statement that the DNR decided to end the dinners in "a desire for the utmost transparency." After the complaint was filed against the agency, the DNR said it would provide public notice of future dinners.

Dick also said the DNR decision's to bring back the snowmobiling issue was based on "additional significant public interest and concerns expressed over opportunity for public input."

In a complaint filed on behalf of Karl Heil, former superintendent of the park and a supporter of sports like cross-country skiing and opponent of snowmobile use at the park, attorney Christa Westerberg of Madison alleged DNR staff briefed and coached board members at a dinner the night before the Jan. 27 board meeting to ensure an outcome that included a snowmobile trail in the park.

Westerberg filed the complaint with Dane County District Attorney Ishmael Ozanne. Ozanne was not available for comment.

The January dinner meeting was not publicly noticed. Dinners have traditionally been held for board members the night before meetings. Board members hail from all parts of the state. Board members attend DNR-organized field trips on Tuesdays before some monthly meetings and generally get together for dinner the night before Wednesday meetings.

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The DNR traditionally posted notices of the Tuesday dinners. But it changed the policy in 2008 when then-board Chairwoman Christine Thomas of Stevens Point, who was appointed by Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, and Mary Ellen Volbrecht, the third-ranking executive at the agency at the time, determined the meeting did not require public notice. The reasoning: No business is discussed during meals or in hotel rooms, and the two expressed concerns about the safety of board members who some fear could have been confronted by the public while at the dinners.

In her complaint, Westerberg pointed to a DNR email noting that agency staff planned to attend the dinner to answer questions about the snowmobile issue.

Westerberg said in her complaint that staff briefed board members in advance of the meeting, but the matter evolved into "full-scale lobbying and polling of each board member, resulting in an illegal walking quorum."

A walking quorum is a series of meetings — by phone or another form of communications — with people who constitute less than a voting majority, but arrive at a consensus that should be conducted in public, according to the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council.

Westerberg said Wednesday she wanted to hear from the agency about its reasoning for dropping the dinners, but added: "Someone at the DNR had recognized that the practices created the potential for problems."

Board Chairman Terry Hilgenberg of Shawano, an appointee of Republican Gov. Scott Walker, said he had been briefed on the changes by the DNR.

As for the end of the dinners, Hilgenberg said in an email:

"It always is difficult to handle change. But with the assistance of department leadership we will develop other means and programs to enhance communication between  board members and senior staff."