By Heather Stanek, Reedsburg Independent
The Sauk County District Attorney’s Office has disagreed with a Reedsburg resident who claims the Sauk County Board of Supervisors has violated the Open Meetings Law on its deliberations regarding the Sauk County Health Care Center.
Closed-session discussions about selling the Reedsburg property prompted Jeff Seering, former editor of the Reedsburg Independent to file a complaint alleging an Open Meetings Law violation. In his complaint, Seering claims the board has not been forthcoming with information that should be available to the public. He also says constituents have a right to know who is in the running to purchase the property.
In a letter dated July 31, 2024, the office notified Seering that it did not find enough evidence to prove the Board violated open meetings law.
The office found that there have been no official announcements of a prospective buyer, and deliberations and negotiations are ongoing.
WiscNews, which is not affiliated with the Reedsburg Independent or its sister newspapers, has reported that the potential buyer is Aria, but the county has not officially announced it as the candidate. The letter further indicated that no buyer has or been officially determined or announced.
It went on to state that, if Aria were indeed the hypothetical buyer, the board would still be able to meet in closed session because state statute allows this option for the deliberation or negotiation of purchasing public properties. The district attorney’s office further pointed out that this is assuming the board even has a buyer in mind, whether that’s Aria or another.
The letter ended with, “In conclusion, the information presently available shows that the board had an appropriately noticed reason for the closed sessions. The information also suggests that while the board is entertaining potential buyers for the property, assumptions arising from a news story with an unnamed source are ‘premature.’ Thus, in my opinion, there is insufficient evidence to show that the board has done anything improper in this instance.”
The Sauk County Health Care Center is not on this month’s Sauk County Board agenda. Future activity regarding the center will likely be its own meeting.
