The Hopkins County-Madisonville Library Board acknowledges that a recent policy decision violated the state Open Meetings law. The board recently voted at a special meeting to rescind their major-gifts policy which had required the transfer of donations in excess of $5,000 to the Library Foundation.
The special meeting was held May 2nd.
This follows an ongoing dispute between the foundation and the board over control of the $500,000 Glema Mahr endowment. After an inquiry from the Madisonville Messenger, library board attorney Randy Hardesty announced that the vote did violate state standards.
“They went ahead and voted on it and apparently that was a technical violation of the Open Meetings Act in that specially-called meetings have to have an agenda that gives fair notice of the particular items to be discussed,” said Hardesty.
Hardesty said the board’s decision was not intended to distance itself from the foundation and that board will take a new vote at the next regular meeting May 21st.
Foundation board attorney Will Cox declined to comment.
