KALKASKA -- Stuart Rogers contends local officials illegally forced him to leave a public meeting. He intends to prove it in court.
Rogers, of rural Kalkaska, filed suit against the Kalkaska County Road Commission and two of its members, alleging they violated the state's Open Meetings Act by ejecting him from a February meeting.
He also alleges they made an illegal, impromptu location change to keep him from attending another meeting.
"Even before the meeting started, they ordered me out," Rogers said.
Rogers has attended and videotaped all road commission sessions since April 2007, when a relative and former road commission employee told him of alleged problems at public meetings.
Rogers' trouble with the road commission began on Feb. 29, when he said he was ordered to leave a meeting at the commission office building.
That meeting was announced at a previous meeting and was designed to be a work session with Coldsprings Township officials about township roads. Rogers showed up and turned on his camcorder.
That's when road commissioners George Nice and James Green ordered him out of the room. They had a sheriff's deputy convey the message, according to the civil suit.
"It was set up to be in the commissioners' room with a date and a time. It was open to everybody," Rogers said. "If they can be there, the public can be there."
Neither Nice nor Green returned repeated phone calls seeking comment.
Kalkaska County Prosecutor Brian Donnelly reviewed Rogers' complaint and decided not to prosecute. Donnelly said an OMA violation did not occur because only two of five road commission members attended what was planned as a work meeting.
Rogers also attempted to attend a March 10 road commission safety committee meeting attended by Nice and Green. When Rogers entered the room, the meeting was adjourned and moved into the basement.
When Rogers entered the basement meeting, he was told he couldn't be there. When he disagreed, the meeting immediately ended, according to the lawsuit.
"They broke the law. It's very obvious," Rogers said.
Donnelly said he did not review the second OMA violation complaint because he is busy with other cases, including murder and criminal sexual conduct charges.
"This is very, very inconsequential stuff right now in my world," Donnelly said. "The road commission in Kalkaska is doing a terrible job, in my opinion, but they're not violating the law. They're just doing a lousy job."
Donnelly described some road commission members as "impolite, inconsiderate and mean-spirited" and said it's conceivable OMA violations occurred in instances he hasn't reviewed, but "it's a lower priority compared to people who are raping and murdering."
Rogers filed suit after Donnelly declined to charge.
"I understand he's busy and that may seem frivolous to him, but it's the law," Rogers said.
Meanwhile, an attorney for the road commission said the meetings were informal and deliberations and decisions were not made, so they were not subject to OMA.
"I think first of all, the Kalkaska County Road Commission supports the openness of government, but there are certainly forms of meetings that are not subject to the OMA," said Craig Lange, a Troy attorney.
Road Commission Manager James Woodhams would not comment about why the meetings were closed and said he wasn't present when Rogers was told to leave.
No disciplinary action was taken against Nice and Green, who continue to attend commission meetings, Woodhams said.
A hearing date has yet to be set and court records show the defendants have yet to file responses to the suit. The case will be heard by 46th Circuit Court Judge Dennis Murphy.
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