EDMONDS — A majority of the Edmonds City Council went to a downtown bar after last week’s meeting to celebrate the appointment of a new councilwoman, raising questions over the gathering’s appearance.
Following the Jan. 19 council meeting, colleagues and supporters went to Engels Pub to celebrate Diane Buckshnis’ appointment to the council.
“We adjourned the council meeting and went to the bar where I gave Diane my congratulations and shook hands with Michael (Plunkett) and Adriene (Fraley-Monillas),” Council President Steve Bernheim told the Enterprise following the incident. “I spent most of the time at the bar talking to Don Hall.”
Hall, an Edmonds resident, recalled a different version of that evening at the tavern.
“I was at Engels Pub,” Hall said. “In walked Councilman Plunket and soon after came council members Fraley-Monillas, Buckshnis and council president Bernheim and eight to 10 (others).” Hall said he informed Fraley-Monillas and Berhneim that there was a quorum present.
Hall planned to address council about the incident at its Jan. 26 meeting, after Enterprise press time.
State law allows council members to meet at social events as long as they don’t talk about city business.
“I could not say if (they) were or weren’t talking city business,” said Hall. “I believe the citizens of Edmonds deserve and expect better from these elected council members. There are no excuses,” he said, pointing out that Bernheim and Plunket are senior council members who should have knowledge of the Washington State Open Meeting Law.
“There isn’t anything to answer unless there is a formal complaint and there is nothing to complain about,” Bernheim told the Enterprise. “I’m not sure what anyone has to complain about. The accusations are not formalized.”
Following the incident, City Attorney Scott Snyder wrote council members: “Post council meeting get-togethers of council members have been a steady source of Open Meetings complaints. The fact that a quorum of the council is present at a church service, funeral, birthday party, etc. is not a violation. It is the conduct of public business that triggers a violation.”
“Don’t fall into a habit of meeting regularly after council meetings,” he wrote. “The natural tendency will be to talk about what you just experienced, and the public is very aware of who you are and where you just were.”
“Such after meeting social events were once common, but have been abandoned by most councils and council members due to the appearance that is created,” Snyder told the Enterprise. “Even if no public business is discussed and the event is purely social, a social event can create the appearance of impropriety. The appearance is often the issue, as it appears to be in this case, rather than an actual violation of the (law).”
A council member who knowingly attends an illegal meeting may be subject to a civil penalty of $100.
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