The Citizen-Times has a nice article on the secret land deal the Buncombe County Commissioners entered into to celebrate Sunshine Week. Unlike my paltry piece, this article was written by somebody who consulted high-power attorneys and also managed to contact all but one commissioner for comment.

Concerns raised include the brevity of the minutes. (Cliquez ici for the shocking “that’s all she wrote.”) The three Republicans in the minority on the board were upset that nothing was stated in the minutes about opposition. Miranda DeBruhl said she thought closed sessions were supposed to be for discussion, not decisions; the counter to that was that no vote was taken. Regardless, the property was sold the very next day.

Another issue is Henderson County Manager Steve Wyatt had a deal from another outfit “in-hand” and ready to close this week, before running to Buncombe County and procuring an emergency meeting. It may be Buncombe could offer a better price, based on the simple observation that half the purchase price would be rebated. By way of review, state law required the proceeds to be split, with half going to Henderson County and half going to Asheville, and Asheville’s portion, in turn, would go to Buncombe County.

Amanda Martin of the North Carolina Press Association said the closed session would be appropriate only if the county had a specific buyer. Jonathan Jones of the North Carolina Open Government Coalition said foregoing legal noticing requirements by calling the meeting an emergency was inappropriate.