Spradlin v. City of Fulton
| Citation | 982 S.W.2d 255 |
| Decision Date | 22 December 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 80634,80634 |
| Parties | James Thomas SPRADLIN, Appellant/Respondent, v. CITY OF FULTON, Missouri, et al., Respondents/Appellants. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Missouri |
John L. Patton, Columbia, for Appellant/Respondent.
James W. Erwin, Jeffrey R. Fink, Thompson Coburn, St. Louis, for Respondents/Appellants.
This case involves a series of closed meetings conducted by the city council of Fulton in connection with a proposal by a private investment group to purchase land and develop a public golf course to be financed through neighborhood improvement bonds. The trial court found that: 1) the city council violated section 610.021(2) because the closed meetings did not relate to the leasing of real estate by a public governmental body; 2) an award of attorney's fees was not warranted because the city council did not purposely violate the open meetings law; and 3) an injunction enjoining the city council from closing future meetings concerning the golf course is authorized by section 610.030, RSMo. We affirm.
Defendant City of Fulton, Missouri, is a municipal corporation organized as a constitutional charter city. Defendant Robert Fisher, Jr., is the city's mayor. Defendant Michael Miller was the director of administration for the city. Defendants Floyd Winingear, Dorothy Reifsteck, Dale Brady, Tom Harris, Steve Moore, Michael West, and Mike Luebbert were members of the city council at all relevant times. Plaintiff James Thomas Spradlin is a citizen and resident of the city.
The city of Fulton had been interested in constructing a public golf course for several years. However, a general obligation bond issue for the construction of a golf course was rejected by Fulton voters in February 1993. In 1994 an investment group, Callaway County Golf Partners, L.L.C. (CCGP), submitted a proposal to the city through Mike Miller concerning the golf course. According to the proposal, CCGP would purchase land from a third party and develop the golf course and a housing subdivision surrounding the course. The city's role in the proposal was to assist in negotiating the real estate transaction and to finance the development of the golf course and related facilities through $3.1 million in neighborhood investment district bonds. The financing arrangement included the lease of the golf course by the city. The proposal also required the city to annex the property, make any necessary rezoning changes, provide utilities to the golf course and residential area, construct and pave a county road to the residential entrance, share half the cost of a new deep well, and assume 100% of the ongoing maintenance of the well. Under the golf course lease, CCGP would manage the course, receive all profits, and upon repayment of the bonds CCGP would own the course. Mr. Miller presented the proposal to the city council in a closed meeting on May 24, 1994.
Between May 24, 1994, and February 14, 1995, the city council conducted thirteen closed meetings concerning the golf course proposal. For each closed meeting the city council stated that the meeting was "to discuss or deal with lease, purchase, or sale of real estate" pursuant to section 610.021(2), RSMo. The golf course proposal was discussed in varying degrees of specificity at the closed meetings. Only in the minutes of the first closed meeting of May 24, 1994 was the term "lease" expressly stated. 1 In the remaining meetings the minutes reflect that the council's discussions centered around the progress of the negotiations between CCGP and the landowner, the city's plan to use municipal bonds to finance the construction of the golf course and its facilities, and the city's other commitments relating to the proposal.
CCGP successfully purchased the property on February 6, 1995. Shortly thereafter, the property was annexed into the city by ordinance and a portion of the property was established as the Fulton Golf Course Neighborhood Improvement District. On May 31, 1995, the city enacted an ordinance authorizing the issuance of $3.1 million of taxable general obligation neighborhood improvement district bonds for the purpose of financing the acquisition and construction of improvements, buildings, and equipment on the property for use as a public golf course. Lastly, the city entered into a written ground lease and management agreement with CCGP.
As a result of the golf course transaction, James Spradlin, a Fulton resident and taxpayer, sued the city of Fulton and its council. Spradlin's petition contained three counts. Count I involved the legality of a neighborhood improvement district formed at the site of the proposed golf course. Count II involved the legality of the financing of the neighborhood improvement district. Counts I and II were disposed of by a second amended judgment entered by the circuit court after the matter was remanded in Spradlin v. City of Fulton, 924 S.W.2d 259 (Mo. banc 1996). The remaining count, at issue in this appeal, concerns whether the city council violated the Missouri Open Meetings Act, section 610.021(2), RSMo.
The circuit court concluded that the city and its council violated section 610.021(2) of the open meetings law by discussing the proposed golf course in closed executive meetings. The circuit court also issued an injunction enjoining the city council from closing future meetings and records pertaining to the golf course unless authorized by section 610.021. Lastly, the circuit court denied Spradlin's request for attorney's fees because it determined that the city and its council did not purposely violate the provisions of chapter 610. Spradlin and the city appealed.
The first issue before us is whether the city council violated section 610.021(2) of the Open Meetings Act by conducting closed meetings regarding the golf course project.
The relevant portion of section 610.021(2) provides:
Except to the extent disclosure is otherwise required by law, a public governmental body is authorized to close meetings, records and votes, to the extent they relate to the following: ... (2) leasing, purchase or sale of real estate by a public governmental body where public knowledge of the transaction might adversely affect the legal consideration therefor. (Emphasis added).
The city contends that the meetings at issue qualified for closure under section 610.021(2) because the discussions "related to" a potential lease by the city of the golf course after the land was purchased by CCGP and developed through financing by the city.
Spradlin asserts that the meetings did not qualify for closure because the proposal was really a financing agreement disguised as a lease and because the specific terms of the lease were not discussed at the closed meetings. Instead, the meetings concerned CCGP's progress in acquiring the land and the financing of the development of the course through municipal bonds. Spradlin contends that a narrow reading of the phrase "relates to" is mandated by the open meetings law and that an expansive reading of section 610.021(2) would be required to sustain the city's position.
State ex rel. Maryland Heights Fire Protection District v. Campbell, 736 S.W.2d 383, 387 (Mo. banc 1987). The phrase "relates to" is ambiguous because it is capable of being read differently by reasonably well-informed individuals. State v. Meggs, 950 S.W.2d 608, 610 (Mo.App.1997). Resort to statutory construction is necessary. The ultimate guide in construing an ambiguous statute is the intent of the legislature. Missouri Rural Elec. Co-op. v. City of Hannibal, 938 S.W.2d 903, 905 n. 4 (Mo. banc 1997); Connor v. Monkem, 898 S.W.2d 89, 90 (Mo. banc 1995).
The legislature's intent with respect to section 610.021 is expressly stated in the Missouri open meetings law. "Missouri's public policy favors open meetings." City of St. Louis v. City of Bridgeton, 806 S.W.2d 717, 718 (Mo.App.1991); see also, Cohen v. Poelker, 520 S.W.2d 50, 54 (Mo. banc 1975). Section 610.011, RSMo.
Section 610.021(2) is an exception to the open meetings law because it authorizes closed meetings when Missouri law and public policy expressly favor open meetings. Because it is an exception, section 610.011(1) mandates that the phrase "relates to" be strictly construed to ensure that the workings of government be open to the scrutiny of the public. A strict reading of section 610.021 requires a public governmental body to satisfy two prongs to qualify for closure. First, a closed meeting must relate directly to "the leasing, purchase, or sale of real estate by a public governmental body." Second, the public governmental body must demonstrate that "public knowledge of the transaction might adversely affect the legal consideration therefor." 2 Section 610.022.3 provides that meetings closed pursuant to section 610.021(2) "shall be closed only to the extent necessary for the specific reason announced to justify the closed meeting" and that "public governmental bodies shall not discuss any business in a closed meeting which does not directly relate to the specific reason announced to justify the closed meeting." Section 610.027.2 provides that the public governmental body and its members bear the burden of persuasion to demonstrate compliance with sections 610.010 to 610.026.
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