St. Clair County commissioners press EDA for transparency, vote to release FOIA opinion

The St. Clair County Board of Commissioners held a second workshop to determine whether the county should continue using the services of the Economic Development Alliance of St. Clair County (EDA) and to explore how those services should be delivered. Commissioners and residents spent much of the meeting criticizing the EDA’s use of nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) and its limited transparency, and the board voted in favor of releasing county attorney Gary Fletcher’s legal opinion on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The discussion matters because the EDA markets and helps recruit commercial and industrial projects across St. Clair County, and several citizens and township supervisors told commissioners they feel excluded from early-stage negotiations and decision-making. “This organization has a disregard for communities during negotiations or discussions,” said Sandra Tannehill, planning commissioner for Wales Township. She, other township officials and multiple residents complained that NDAs and confidential processes keep townships and voters in the dark.

Public commenters described a range of concerns and benefits. James Endress Jr., Ira…