Lewes FOIA lawsuit dismissed
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Chancery court Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock III has dismissed a lawsuit against Lewes Mayor Ted Becker and city council over alleged Freedom of Information Act violations related to the Lewes dog park.
Lewes resident Col. Gerald A. Lechliter was seeking an injunction to nullify mayor and city council’s Jan. 11, 2016, motion approving amendments to a sublease to Lewes Unleashed and other matters.
The 4.5-acre dog park, operated by Lewes Unleashed, is within a 60-plus-acre green space known as Great Marsh Park, which is owned by the state of Delaware and leased to the city of Lewes. Mayor and city council subleased the 4.5-acre space to Lewes Unleashed.
Lechliter claimed city council violated FOIA by not specifically saying a vote was to take place at the Jan. 11 meeting. He also asserted an amendment to the sublease was reduced to an addendum signed by the mayor on behalf of the city and that the public received inadequate notice that ratification of the addendum would be considered.
Glasscock said resolution to the issues is “straightforward.”
“The purpose of FOIA is not to provide a series of hyper-technical requirements that serve as snares for public officials, and frustrate their ability to do the public’s business, without adding meaningfully to citizens’ rights to monitor that public business,” he wrote in his decision.
Glasscock said the city complied with FOIA when noticing the consideration of amendments to the sublease on the meeting agenda.
“The purpose of that consideration, obviously, was to inform a vote by the city council either approving or denying such an amendment,” he wrote. “The public, including those with an interest in the dog park, had all the notice they required that this subject was under review by the city council.”
City Solicitor Glenn Mandalas applauded Glasscock’s decision.
“We are entirely pleased with the outcome of the case,” he said. “However, this case is just one of many examples confirming the commitment Lewes has made to conducting public business in accordance with the open meeting laws established by our General Assembly so that the public may freely observe the activities of its elected and appointed officials.”
