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Queenstown commissioners hold closed session to seek legal advice on contract matter
Summary
At a July 17 special meeting, Queenstown commissioners voted to enter a closed session "to obtain legal advice on a contract matter." The session began at 10:13 a.m.; commissioners reconvened at 11:02 a.m. The minutes do not specify details of the contract under discussion.
QUEENSTOWN, Md. — The Queenstown commissioners convened a special meeting July 17 and voted to enter a closed session to obtain legal advice on a contract matter, according to the meeting minutes.
Commissioner Hogie Schuster called the meeting to order at 10:13 a.m. Commissioner Alton Hardee Jr. moved "to convene a closed session to obtain legal advice on a contract matter," and Commissioner Hogie Schuster seconded. The motion was recorded as unanimously carried. The minutes list the meeting location as the Queenstown Town Office and say the closed session commenced at 10:13 a.m. Present were Commissioners Hogie Schuster and Alton Hardee Jr., Town Manager and Town Clerk Amy Moore, and Town Attorney Brynja Booth.
The minutes show the commissioners reconvened the special meeting at 11:02 a.m. At that time, Commissioner Hogie Schuster moved to close the special meeting; Commissioner Alton Hardee Jr. seconded the motion. The minutes do not provide a separate vote tally or further public details about the contract matter discussed during the closed session.
The record appended to the minutes cites the legal authority for executive sessions under the Maryland Open Meetings Act, Maryland Code Annotated, General Provisions Article, § 3-305(b) (2014). The form included in the record lists the statutory bases that can justify a closed session, including discussion of personnel matters; privacy-related matters; acquisition of real property for a public purpose; proposals by businesses to locate or expand in the State; investment of public funds; and marketing of public securities. The minutes do not indicate which statutory subsection the commissioners relied on beyond the general citation.
The minutes and appended closed-session form do not specify the contract at issue, the substance of legal advice received, or any follow-up actions assigned to staff. The document concludes with the standard "Respectfully submitted" signature block for the town clerk and indicates the clerk is directed to keep the closed-session form as a public record and to append it to the minutes of the next public meeting.
No public comment, witness testimony, or additional deliberations are recorded in the minutes provided.
