President Terry opened the special meeting in public. He then asked for public comments. I (Joe Reynolds) took the opportunity to explain why I was there; Tom responded. Then Pete Gomsak made a motion to go into closed session and it was seconded.

At this point Director Dave Stevens asked for discussion on the motion. Stevens essentially said he wasn't all that comfortable with discussion of outsourcing in private. President Terry said the closed discussion was to be about proprietary information from the two firms seeking the outsourcing contract and looking at the comparative data from the two firms that resulted in the the "group" recommending only one of the interested companies, adding that the board would not be discussing the "book." The "book" is a looseleaf binder with the report of the group that studied outsourcing at the direction of the board. Terry said the "book" would be discussed during the public meeting tomorrow.

However, every member of the board had a copy of the "book," what they were not there to discuss, in front of them.

Stevens said he had been presented with no comparative data prior to the meeting. He said he learned of the meeting in the same way I did, an email from OPA saying the board would hold a closed meeting. He wondered aloud how he could vote to go into closed session when he had not even been provided the information to be discussed.

Pete Gomsak said the comparative data was not in the "book" but board members could ask him questions about it.

New board member Rick Handelman suggested that since the board might be discussing some things that should be private and others that might best be done in public, the board should go to closed session..... interesting reasoning to say the least, in light of the Maryland Homeowners Association Act stipulations about what can and cannot be discussed in closed session.

At the conclusion of discussion the vote was 6-1 to move to closed session -- Stevens voting No.