Assistant city solicitor’s duties questioned by council

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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Despite the fact that school districts routinely released such plans in the past, Wilkes-Barre Area has denied a Right To Know request from attorney Kimberly Borland for plans of two projects: The completed Mackin building renovations and the proposed consolidated high school.</p><p>Releasing such drawings can abet criminals and terrorists, Solicitor Ray Wendolowski said.</p><p>Borland had filed 14 RTK requests Dec. 2, including one each for the plans and specifications for the Mackin project and the proposed new high school. He received responses to the requests Monday night and shared them with the Times Leader Tuesday.</p><p>All requests were granted save those two. In the written denial, District Open Records Officer and Business Manger Leonard Przywara cited two exemptions allowed under the state RTK law: &#8220;The personal security exemption&#8221; and the &#8220;building plan and infrastructure record exemption.&#8221;</p><p>Borland said the rejection was odd in light of the fact that, at the end of Monday&#8217;s marathon school board meeting, John Panzitta pitched a plan in which Panzitta Enterprises would buy a building, renovate it with classroom space and lease it to the district. The presentation included drawings of proposed floor plans.</p><p>But Wendolowski said Tuesday that was the choice of Panzitta, not the district. He also noted that there is a difference between showing floor plans at a meeting and handing out printed versions.</p><p>&#8220;Looking at plans at a hearing is different than having the plans,&#8221; Wendolowski posited. In fact, he noted a ruling by the state Office of Open Records (OOR) in a case very similar to this one addressed that issue.</p><p>Wendolowski said his determination rested on the OOR case known as Knauss vs. Unionville-Chadds Ford School District. Keith Knauss, a citizen, filed an RTK request for paper copies of documents the district created for the state known as &#8220;PlanCon D &amp; E submissions.&#8221;</p><p>Those documents included drawings and plans for a new school. The district denied the request, arguing that keeping architectural drawings private protects &#8220;the personal security of individuals &#8212; in this instance, school children, staff and visitors.&#8221;</p><p>Such drawings could be used by criminals, already inside the school by exposing blind spots for security cameras or other havens for criminal behavior, and for terrorists who could use the drawings to plan an attack, the district argued.</p><p>The citizen appealed to the OOR, which agreed with the district.</p><p>&#8220;Having the plans with you, you are able to figure out how to access the building and do harm to the people in it,&#8221; Wendolowski argued. &#8220;Do I think the Borlands are going to be terrorists and blow up the building? Of course not. But if I gave plans to Borland and ISIS made the same request, do I have to give it to them?&#8221;</p><p>Wendolowski conceded denying copies of the plans may seem counterintuitive because that means taxpayers must foot the bill for a project when they don&#8217;t know the details of what is being built. But he noted the Knauss ruling addresses that as well.</p><p>In the Unionville-Chadds Ford case, the district was asking voters to approve a funding referendum. Not seeing the plans, Knauss argued, would &#8220;result in an absurd situation&#8221; in which taxpayers voted to spend the money &#8220;for a building whose architectural drawings they could not see.&#8221;</p><p>The district countered that many important facts were released at a state-mandated hearing, but the details should remain under wraps. The State Department of Education jumped into the legal fray, contending the public gets meaningful participation&#8221; in the construction project under the state system, but that releasing detailed plans &#8220;is unnecessary to ensure effective public scrutiny of construction projects.&#8221;</p><p>Borland said he plans to appeal Wilkes-Barre Area&#8217;s denial in some capacity, likely by initially submitting a simplified request to see if at least some records would be released.</p><p>&#8220;We will tailor our request to what we need to under the law,&#8221; Borland said, &#8220;to get what we need the public to see.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wendolowski</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_Wendolowski-Ray-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wendolowski</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_Borland-Kim-1.jpeg">
<div class="neCaption">Kim Borland</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_Borland-Kim-1.jpeg</photo1><caption1>Kim Borland</caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Drawings for Mackin, new high school withheld by W-B Area