Was taping banned at county technical review meeting?

Received an email this morning from a citizen who'd attended a technical review meeting conducted by Kitsap County staff on Wednesday, 7/20/2005, at Givens Community Center. The meeting was to review the Timbers Edge proposal that would allow about 130 homes in the Illahee area in East Bremerton. The meeting turnout was apparently too large to hold at the county offices, as is normally the case, so was held at the Givens Center instead.

Before the meeting, a citizen reportedly asked a county planner, Meg Sands, if it would be okay to record the meeting on tape but was told no. Then, after the meeting, another planner, Jason Rice, asked the citizen whether she'd recorded the meeting. The citizen replied no and asked where it was stated that the meeting couldn't be recorded.

Apparently, staff could not identify any policy, regulation or law prohibiting the recording and referred the matter to the Prosector.

This morning, I sent my own inquiry to the County, asking whether taping of the Timbers Edge meeting was denied and asked whether the County had an established policy on taping meetings.

Stay tuned.