PORT TOWNSEND – A tense Jefferson County commissioners meeting Monday brought on by a community activist and his sign resulted in an armed sheriff’s deputy being called to the scene.
Prior to Sheriff’s Deputy Bill Wells arriving in the commissioners’ chambers at the county courthouse, Mats Mats open-government activist Mike Belenski took an opportunity during a public comment period to unfold in front of the dais a sign reading “Secrecy Zone: The public is prohibited beyond this point.”
The sign, Belenski said, was criticism of a meeting that took place the previous Monday in which a clerk was not present to keep written minutes of what was discussed.
Although the meeting was recorded on audio tape, Belenski claimed that county policy requires a clerk to be present at every commissioners meeting to take minutes, and that the minutes allow the public to later find out what was discussed without having to listen to an entire recording.
