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Access Issues |
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November 3, 2008
Park Service will allow videotaping of November negotiated rulemaking meeting
 The two-day meeting is scheduled to be held at Wright Brothers National Memorial on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 14 and 15. The videotaping will be authorized under the terms and conditions of a special use permit, according to a Park Service media release. The issue of videotaping is of special interest to the public since Murray made a decision last month to cancel October’s meetings in Hatteras village and move all future meetings to the Wright Brothers National Memorial, a long round-trip from Hatteras and Ocracoke, where residents and businesses will be most directly affected by ORV rulemaking. One of the reasons for the move, Murray said, was real or perceived threats to and intimidation of committee members. The 29-member committee is negotiating a long-range rule for off-road vehicles on the seashore. The purpose of the videotaping, according to the Park Service, is to provide video documentation of the meeting to share with the public via Dare and Hyde County government access cable television channels and via the Web. The National Park Service believes that videotaping will: • Enhance the transparency and openness of the process • Provide the public as a whole an opportunity to observe the proceedings • Provide a means for educating interested parties about the proceedings and issues • Provide an opportunity for the committee to show its diligence, civility, and hard work on the important issues before the committee According to the media release, concerns have been expressed about allowing videotaping at this time, in the middle of the process. The concerns expressed include: • The potential to focus on individuals and their comments, rather than on the substance of the issues at hand (focus on the problem, not the people) • The potential to encourage grandstanding to and in front of the camera • The potential to inhibit open dialogue, creative ideas, and general discussion • The committee did not reach consensus on reversing the decision, made at the beginning of the negotiated rulemaking process, to not allow videotaping To address these concerns, the media release said, the NPS will work with the Dare County to issue a special permit that meets the needs of transparency, openness, and support of, rather than hindrance to, the work of the committee. “This has been a very difficult decision,” said Murray, who as the designated federal official, leads the committee’s work. “I believe the concerns expressed about potential negative impacts of videotaping are real. After careful consideration and consultation with many, I have determined that the benefits of permitting videotaping do outweigh the real costs. Based on the e-mail messages and phone calls that we receive on a regular basis, there is a need for accurate information about beach access, the negotiated rulemaking process, and the legal mandates that must be met by NPS in the ORV management plan. “Videotaping will allow many more people to observe the meeting discussion, hear the different points of view, and judge them for themselves,” Murray added. “Ultimately, NPS must weigh the benefits of transparency and broad public outreach against the effectiveness of the committee and its intent and purpose. NPS has determined that potential benefits of videotaping outweigh the potential negative impacts on the negotiation process.” Murray added that he intends to “take it one meeting at a time” to ensure that his assessment of the issue is accurate. He said he will re-evaluate the situation, as needed, after the November meeting. Warren Judge, chairman of the Dare County Board of Commissioners and a member of the committee, made the offer to videotape the meeting during the summer. The county, he said, was willing to pay the costs of the production of the videotapes because of the importance of access to the seashore beaches to the county economy. Last month, the Dare County commissioners passed a resolution, affirming their support of videotaping the meetings to enhance public access. “We’re pleased with Mike’s decision,” Judge said. “We think it’s the right thing to do….It allows more sunshine on the process and allows more people to see the process.” Dorothy Toolan, public information director for Dare County, said that now that the county has the go-ahead to videotape, she will be gathering more information on the details. “We delayed getting cost estimates because it didn’t seem it would happen,” Toolan said. She does have a commitment from Robert Boyer of Frisco, who videotapes the commission’s board meetings, to produce the videotape for the negotiated rulemaking meetings. Toolan said she will be working this week on the cost of the videotaping and other details of how the videotapes will be made available to the public. For sure, she said, they will be shown on the government access cable channel, and the tapes will be available in the county’s libraries. She said she is committed to making the tape “as widely available as possible” and will explore how they can be made available on the Web for off-island property owners, regular visitors to the islands, and others who are interested in the outcome of the committee meetings. “I’m just thrilled they are going to allow it,” she said. “I think the benefits outweigh the negatives.” The committee meetings are open to the public, and members of the public can comment each day at noon and on the first day of the meetings at 5 p.m. FOR MORE INFORMATION For more information on the negotiated rulemaking process and the issue of videotaping the meetings, please go to “Shooting the Breeze” by Island Free Press editor Irene Nolan at the top of the front page. Or click on the link below: http://islandfreepress.org/2008Archives/10.21.2008-ShootingTheBreezeTheProblemsWithTheNegotiatedRulemakingProcess.html |
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