[MassHistPres] local HC minutes

[Dennis De Witt]

Too extensive a recording of the discussion can come back and bite  
you.  We have had more than one person with an ax to grind comb  
through our minutes of old meetings looking for "evidence" to prove  
their idea of bad behavior.

Beyond the facts and whatever you may want the record to show about a  
particular case, lengthy notes for their own sake would seem to entail  
more risk than reward.  The advantage of approving an edited and  
corrected set of minutes is that you control what is included in the  
official record.  If you video or audio record the meeting, every  
cranky remark some member may have made in an unguarded moment becomes  
part of the public record -- even if he did not represent the  
Commission's position and vote on the case.  At the very least an open  
mike on the table or a camera in the room can inhibit free and frank  
discussion.  At worst your local blogger could have a regrettable  
sound bite for his web site.

Dennis De Witt


On Oct 3, 2008, at 4:48 AM, Marcia Starkey wrote:

> My experience with two HCs is that it takes an able person to take and
> produce good minutes on a long term basis. We have one when work  
> doesn't
> interfere. An important associated question is the level of detail
> required. The law is, I believe, that topics and actions must be  
> recorded,
> but not the discussion. ??
> Marcia Starkey, Greenfield
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <slater at alum.rpi.edu>
> To: <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
> Sent: Thursday, October 02, 2008 12:39 PM
> Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] local HC minutes
>
>
>> I'm curious if this clerk, or the secretary of any MA HCs are paid
>> positions.
>>
>> If not, how do you coerce someone to do work in an unpaid position  
>> which
>> doesn't have the status of being a commissioner? Do HCs have
>> commissioners who are willing to volunteer as the secretary (which  
>> can
>> be elected from within or outside the commission)?
>>
>> Ralph
>>
>>
>>> The Clerk of Amherst's Historical Commission takes
>>> the meeting notes on
>>> her laptop and then refines them into printed minutes which are
>>> reviewed, approved, and archived. Usually she circulates the draft
>>> minutes via email prior to the next meeting, then staff provide hard
>>> copies at the meeting. Amendments made during approval are noted  
>>> on her
>>> laptop and final versions sent to staff.
>>>
>>> Jonathan Tucker
>>> Planning Director
>>> Town Hall, 4 Boltwood Ave.
>>> Amherst, MA 01002
>>> (413) 259-3040
>>> (413) 259-2410 [fax]
>>> tuckerj at amherstma.gov
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu
>>> [mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Marcia Starkey
>>> Sent: Thursday, October 02, 2008 9:53 AM
>>> To: MassHistPres
>>> Subject: [MassHistPres] local HC minutes
>>>
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> Are there local historical commissions who do other than take  
>>> longhand
>>> notes of meeting minutes? What are, or are there.. new  
>>> technologies for
>>> doing it another way? This is always a job that needs help!
>>>
>>> Marcia Starkey, Greenfield HC
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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