Hot from a FOIA request.

I recently had to file a FOIA  (Freedom Of Information) Request to get a copy of the Town of Waverly's Council meeting of July 10, 2012 draft minutes. At first I was denied a copy but when I produced  the Virginia Code section 2.2-3707 Meetings to be public; notice of meetings;recordings; minutes that states "Minutes, including draft minutes and all other records of open meetings, including audio or audio/visual records shall be deemed public records and subject to the provisions of this chapter." I was told that I could get a copy IF I requested them in writing. I was first going to just write a letter requesting them but was told it had to be an OFFICIAL FOIA Request on an OFFICIAL FOIA Form. I played by all their rules (which are not valid but more on that later) and after a few days was given the minutes, pictured below. For which I had to pay a fee to obtain the copy.

In the title you can clearly see that these were considered DRAFT. So why do you think it was necessary to stamp the word DRAFT in bold red capital letters all over the pages in an attempt to make them hard to read. I am glad to see that this Town's Leadership has nothing better to do than play childish games. I wonder if that petty gesture made him/they feel more like a leader. I wouldn't put it past them that they had to go out and spend a few of our taxpayer dollars to purchase the stamp in the first place.


If you are interested in seeing the minutes with out all the kindergarten art-work they follow. I had to capture them in 5 separate images, click on to enlarge or click to save and paste into a document to be printed. I hope you enjoy this copy FREE OF CHARGE and WITHOUT the GAMES.