News Photo by Reagan Voetberg Alcona County Commission on Aging board members are pictured at the Sunrise Center on Tuesday.

LINCOLN — A turbulent Alcona County Commission on Aging (ACCOA) meeting on Tuesday may have resulted in a violation of the Michigan Open Meetings Act, Michigan Press Association General Counsel Jennifer Dukarski says.

The ACCOA board held a special meeting on Tuesday, where they discussed new business and held public comment.

The public comment became combative after claims were made that some contractors who were hired to build the new Sunrise Center have yet to be paid.

The Alcona County Sunrise Center, which was built thanks to a nearly $13 million grant ACCOA received, was opened in July after several setbacks and controversy around the project.

The grant also funded eight bungalow-style homes for senior living at the location.

In the midst of public comment, Board President Ryan Mendyka called a 20 minute recess of the board and urged the other board members to follow him out of the meeting.

“Board members, come with me please,” Mendyka said.

All ACCOA board members filed out of the room.

When they returned, Mendyka said they had talked to their lawyers, who had given them a prepared statement.

It is not known if all of the members in the board were in a room together during the recess, but if they were, it would be an Open Meetings Act violation because there was a quorum of the board in one place outside of the open meeting.

“It appears they were in a conversation with their lawyer in a closed session at a time when it would have been inappropriate,” Dukarski said. “At best, it certainly denies transparency. At worst, it would have been a violation of the Open Meetings Act.”

The News reached out to Mendyka, who refused to comment.

The agenda for the meeting did not include a closed session, nor was there a vote to enter into a closed session or for the recess.

When public comment was allowed to continue, it was constantly interrupted by Mendyka, who tried to read the full statement received from ACCOA’s lawyer.

While that was not technically a violation of the Open Meetings Act, one would hope that a public body would be open to listening to public comment and be less adversarial, Dukarski said.

Attorney Michael Lamble, who spoke during public comment, was interrupted by a board member saying that he should have communications with the board’s attorney rather than speaking during public comment.

Dukarski said that if Lamble was speaking about a specific legal matter involving the board, it would be more appropriate to speak to their attorney, as stated by the board member. However, attorneys have a right like any other member of the public to speak about general matters during public comment.

Lamble represents Smith Electric owned by Brad Smith, one of the contractors that has not been paid by the ACCOA. Smith has filed a lien against the ACCOA, which Lamble spoke about in public comment.

Lamble also made the claim that ACCOA does not have an attorney, but according to statements made by Mendyka at the meeting, the board is represented by Attorney Matt Herstein of Deneweth, Vittiglio, and Sassak, P.C.

The News contacted Herstein who confirmed on Tuesday that he represents ACCOA in legal matters, although there is no active litigation.