It was with great sadness that I read your reported account of the last Park District Board meeting wherein Mr. Wass related he was once again the target of intimidation and bullying from the majority members of the board.  It seems they are still attempting to get him to “go along to get along”.  Kudos to Mr. Wass for resisting and bringing the matter to the public attention.  Since no denial from the majority board members was reported, I must assume the description offered by Mr. Wass is accurate.

I thought this matter had been put to rest after the public humiliation of Mr. Wass by the board during the board workshop held at the Little White Schoolhouse on 26 October 2011.  It seemed that all had moved on to conduct the business of the public.  Alas, no.  

Even worse, the majority board members used the cover of Executive Session (on 28 December, 2011) to shield this attack from public view.  Executive session is to be used for very specific discussions, not as a method to conduct business outside the scrutiny of the public.  

Seems like a violation of the open meetings act to me.  I would call upon the board, in a gesture of transparency and to assure all they have nothing to hide, to release a complete and unedited transcript of the discussion that took place as it related to the incident as reported by Mr. Wass.  All the executive sessions are recorded and the recording is kept forever so this should be no problem.

I would also request the Kendall County States Attorney Weis to open an investigation into a possible violation of the Open Meetings Act.

Mr Wass is an elected public official and is entitled to better treatment by his fellow board members than has been displayed.   He was elected on a platform of being a good steward of the pubic tax money given to the Park District.  To my knowledge all he has ever tried to do is ensure our money is spent wisely and judiciously.  This is how I spend my money, and it is how I expect every taxing body to spend taxpayer money.

Richard B. Ayers, Oswego