Open Meetings complaints against Egan delayed as commission seeks more information

By Carleen Wild
Moody County Enterprise

More than two dozen allegations of open meetings violations involving the City of Egan remain unresolved after the South Dakota Open Meetings Commission opted this past week to postpone any decision, citing a lack of investigatory information.
The complaints, filed by Michelle Ten Eyck and Jerome Olson, allege multiple violations of state open meetings laws. But when the commission took up the matter, members this past week said they did not have enough information beyond the complaint itself to proceed.
No representatives from the City of Egan attended the hearing, either in person or by phone. Ten Eyck participated remotely.
Commission members noted the complaint had been submitted through both the Attorney General’s Office and the Moody County State’s Attorney, but said no formal investigatory file accompanied the materials presented for review.
Without that, the commission determined it was not in a position to evaluate the claims.
A motion to postpone the matter passed, with direction that the case be referred back to Moody County State’s Attorney Paul Lewis for further investigation and clarification before returning to the commission.
The delay follows a months-long back-and-forth over the complaint’s handling. Ten Eyck said the original complaint was submitted to the Attorney General’s Office in November before being referred back locally. Additional materials were later sent directly to Lewis by certified mail.
Lewis, in a written response, defended the handling of the case and the materials submitted to the commission.
“To say that no investigation had been done into the complaint made by Mr. Olson and Ms. Ten Eyck is to perform a great disservice to Mr. Olson and Ms. Ten Eyck’s excellent work. Their documentation is probably the most comprehensive that my office has ever received, relative to an open meetings violation, and based upon the thoroughness of their investigative materials, I forwarded the same, along with a copy of their complaint, on to the South Dakota Open meetings Commission for its review and adjudication.”
Lewis further added, “After I have had a chance to speak with the South Dakota Open Meetings Commission’s attorney, I will again review Ms. Ten Eyck and Mr. Olson’s investigative materials, and confer with the parties as to a course of action that I feel is appropriate for the nature of the alleged offenses made by the City of Egan’s Board of Trustees.”
The commission is expected to revisit the matter once additional information is provided.