A transparency lawsuit filed in Clallam County Superior Court accuses the Olympic Medical Center Board of Commissioners of multiple violations of the Open Public Meetings Act during a July bond refinancing process, according to a report by the Peninsula Daily News.
The Allegations Surrounding the July Meetings
The lawsuit names Clallam County Public Hospital District No. 2, doing business as Olympic Medical Center, alongside six individual board members: Phil Giuntoli, Tom Oblak, Nancy Field, Carleen Benson, Gerald Stephanz, and Thom Hightower. Filed on Friday by Olympia resident Arthur West, the complaint targets actions taken during board sessions on July 15, July 27, and July 29.
According to the lawsuit, the sequence of events began July 15 when the board failed to lawfully dispose of or continue a pending motion regarding Resolution 573, which proposed refinancing the hospital district’s bonds. The motion was deferred to an undefined future special meeting without entering a proper order of continuance into the minutes or posting it as required under chapter 42.30 of the Revised Code of Washington.
By July 27, the board convened for a special meeting where officials announced at the outset that no action could be taken due to a scheduling oversight. However, commissioners still discussed the bond refinancing resolution and held an executive session intended to evaluate a public employee’s performance. That session stretched from 4:13 p.m. to 5:05 p.m. without a public announcement extending the scheduled 5:00 p.m. cutoff, which the filing argues violates state law requiring the presiding officer to state a conclusion time.
Just two days later, on July 29, the board held a two-minute special meeting and unanimously approved Resolution 573. The lawsuit states that the meeting’s minutes reflect no staff report, public comment, or deliberation, indicating that the actual decision-making happened during the disputed July 27 session or outside a properly noticed public forum.
Demands for Nullification and Penalties
The legal action asks the court to declare that the board and its commissioners acted in violation of the Open Public Meetings Act and to render the vote on Resolution 573 null and void. The plaintiff also requests civil penalties ranging from $500 to $1,000 for each commissioner due to their knowing participation in the alleged violations, alongside a writ of injunctive relief to prevent future infractions.
Bobby Stone, OMC’s marketing and communications director, stated that the hospital had not yet been officially served with the lawsuit.
Arthur West, who filed the action independently without legal representation, noted a long history of filing transparency lawsuits against public agencies across Washington state, including municipal governments and public disclosure commissions. “I do it because I support open government and I like to see our government function the way it’s supposed to and not behind closed doors,” West told the Peninsula Daily News.
The board formally ratified the minutes from the disputed July meetings during its regular session on August 5, sealing the record that now forms the basis of the court challenge.
