Last week's "open" committee meeting in Coplay didn't take place after all.

In an attempt to avoid being caught in a violation of the Sunshine Act, which requires government officials to do business in public, Councilman Bill Leiner Jr. scheduled what he intended to be a public meeting of the health and insurance committee Oct. 25.

He asked that the meeting be listed in The Press' Happenings section and had it posted on a borough bulletin board and website.

However, after talking to Pennsylvania Newspaper Association attorney Melissa Melewsky, Leiner changed his mind.

"You're supposed to advertise it in the legal section," he told The Press Thursday evening after the meeting was to have taken place. Realizing the meeting did not meet the legal requirements of a public session, Leiner canceled it.

Councilman David Royer, who is also a member of the health and insurance committee, came to the borough building for the committee meeting.

"I gave him a tutorial on how we should be doing things," Leiner said. "Of course, he doesn't see it that way."

Leiner also spoke to borough solicitor James Preston, who advised him council members are allowed to meet privately to gather information but no deliberations are to take place.

"But gathering information begs the question why not talk about things publicly?" Leiner told The Press.

Melewsky said Preston's advice is common and case law does exist to support the right of public officials to hold information gathering sessions in private. However, she said, such meetings are problematic.

"From a practical standpoint, it is very difficult to gather information without crossing the line into deliberation. It's easy to take information and talk about how to put it into practice in the community: This is policy deliberation and it can only happen publicly," she said.

Further, she said, holding private sessions for information gathering conflicts with the intent of the Sunshine Act.

"Information gathering sessions are often the genesis of public policy, and the public is entitled to understand the origin of public policy," she said. "There is no reason the committee can't gather information at a public meeting."

The additional problem created by private information gathering sessions is that if the public is not present, there's no way to hold public officials accountable and make sure they are not deliberating in private, Melewsky said.

"It really falls to the elected officials to be as open as possible and act in the best interests of their citizens," she said.

Leiner sent an email to Royer and Councilman Matt Recker, who is also a member of the health and insurance committee. He later forwarded it to The Press.

"Sorry to have you come out for the meeting that was not held," he wrote. "After hearing from the newspaper attorney today that we may be violating the Sunshine Act I felt we needed to not hold the meeting."

Leiner told Royer and Recker that he discussed the issue with Preston and that Preston said the committees can meet to gather information only. Committee members must never publicly announce that a committee voted, decided or recommends a particular course of action.

"Mr. Preston was clear; no deliberations can take place. Therefore the current governing style for the last five years is unacceptable,"Leiner wrote in the email.

Attempts to reach Preston, Royer aand other members of council this week were unsuccessful.