Old Lyme — A member of the Board of Selectmen is calling for the resignation of the town Parks and Recreation Commission chairman after some members of the public complained they were turned away from in-person attendance at a meeting earlier this month.

Resident Amanda Gates told The Day she and three others were denied access to the meeting by commission Chairman Bob Dunn. The meeting was listed on the town website calendar as being held in the Town Hall meeting room, while the agenda included virtual meeting call-in information.

Gates said Dunn told her the meeting room was not open to the public, but that she could make her public comment by calling in. So she went outside and watched the meeting through the window while listening to it over the phone. She also made her comments — which revolved around the commission's earlier decision not to hold summer day camp this year — by phone.

Selectwoman Mary Jo Nosal at Monday's selectmen's meeting said she was "appalled and really angry" that members of the public were kicked out of the meeting.

"There's no question that at public meetings, you don't kick out the public," she said.

Nosal was one of the people listening to the meeting virtually, she told the two fellow selectmen.

"There's no denying it happened," she said. "And I believe that we should ask for the chairman's resignation."

The seven-member commission is appointed by the Board of Selectmen, according to town ordinance.

Neither First Selectman Tim Griswold nor Selectman Chris Kerr responded to the suggestion that they should ask Dunn to resign.

Griswold said he needed clarity from the state Freedom of Information Commission on open meeting requirements amid the coronavirus pandemic and that the officials "would get to the bottom of it."

Dunn said by phone Tuesday that he did not know the town had started allowing the public to attend meetings again.

"We were doing teleconference meetings throughout this pandemic," he said. "I didn't even know (Town Hall) was open. In fact, even on the town website it says 'by appointment only' to get into the Town Hall. No one informed me people could attend these meetings," he said.

He said most of the commission members have been attending remotely. He has been operating the call-in technology and recording device from the meeting hall, with only Parks and Recreation Director Don Bugbee and one commission member who requested to attend the meeting in person due to personal technical difficulties.

Dunn said he plans to apologize at the commission's next meeting for the fact that he didn't know the Town Hall was open to the public.

"That's true, we did not allow a few ladies into the meeting, but then again, like I said, we weren't informed that people could attend meetings," he said.

Dunn, who has been a member of the commission for more than 20 years and its chairman for about 10, said he has no plans to resign.

An executive order signed by Gov. Ned Lamont last year in response to the pandemic loosened state Freedom of Information laws that previously required in-person, public access to meetings. That has allowed municipalities to hold meetings remotely by conference call, videoconference or "other technology" — as long as the public can listen or watch in real time.

Freedom of Information Commission public education officer Tom Hennick said some municipalities in the state have offered both an in-person and remote option, which is referred to as a "hybrid" approach. And some of those meeting agendas have specified that only board or commission members will participate in person while the public must participate remotely, which he described as an acceptable practice.

But the commission in this case appeared to give people the option to attend either in person or over the phone. And that's why denying access to those who showed up is "a problem," according to Hennick.

"There's nothing that allows you to turn people away," he said of the state open meeting law and executive order. "If it's hybrid, you've got to let people in until the room is filled to whatever the safe capacity might be. You can't turn people away if the meeting's noticed as an open meeting."

Those who are denied open access to meetings can file a complaint with the Freedom of Information Commission, which holds hearings on such matters. In cases where the commission finds a municipality has violated a law, it has limited power to impose penalties ranging from having violators attend an FOI workshop, to assessing monetary fines, to declaring null and void any action taken at the meeting.

Gates said she was informed by an assistant in the first selectman's office that the public could attend the meeting.

Dunn said he was "blindsided" when he heard that the public was being told meetings are now being held in person when he didn't even know about it. "It was all very poor communication," he said.

He emphasized the location listed in the website calendar location did not match the agenda, nor did it include a link to the agenda.

But, now that he knows Town Hall is open for meetings, he confirmed the public will be able to attend the commission's next meeting on June 3 either in person or over the phone.

Griswold, the first selectman, agreed it was a "miscommunication kind of thing" as opposed to intentionally barring people from a public meeting. He said Town Hall will send a communication on the topic to all boards and commissions.

"I think we need to go out to everyone and make sure they understand the proper way of conducting a meeting now that the rules have changed again," he said.

Hennick, when asked if the FOI Commission is inclined to give municipalities extra latitude in complying with open meeting requirements in these unprecedented times, said the agency has not yet adjudicated any "pandemic-type" issues.

"Seeing that the Governor's executive orders and the FOI Act intersected without any real granting of authority to the FOIC, I'm not sure what the answer might be," he said.

He said it's his personal opinion that the FOI Commission would offer "a little leeway" to various agencies in the event of a complaint but added, "it is difficult to know where the line would be drawn."

For Gates, it was the first public meeting she attended in her five years as a resident of Old Lyme. She said she went to get a better understanding of why the recreation commission was not planning to hold day camp this summer amid the pandemic. She described the decision as inconsistent, considering students in the Lyme-Old Lyme school district have been in school full time all year, even when most other schools in the area were not.

Dunn told The Day the commission is investigating options for holding summer camp this year and that "there is a good chance" it will happen.

One thing Gates said she learned from watching the meeting through the Town Hall window is that it's important for the public to show up as a way to hold officials accountable.

"We were definitely cold and outside," she said. "And we were watching these three men sit there in their comfortable, warm chairs and all these empty chairs were set up. Why is there an empty room filled with these chairs if you didn't think anyone was allowed to be there?"

e.regan@theday.com