During a Sept. 13 Mott Community College Board of Trustees meeting to determine the process the board would follow in its search for a permanent president, Trustee Jeffrey Swanson just happened to produce a hand-written motion outlining in detail the responsibilities of the ad-hoc committee.

This, despite the board not deciding until that very meeting that they would use an ad-hoc committee for its search rather than a traditional search firm. Remember, the purpose of the meeting was to review proposals submitted to Mott by search firms. Swanson was never seen writing despite being on camera for the entirety of the meeting prior to when his motion was made. He also visibly struggled to read the motion he had allegedly just wrote.

In the meeting, Swanson reads the motion and then passes the paper he wrote it on to Dianne Cotter, who was hired in a yet unnamed role with the board in September.

That paper is a public record, something the board should’ve preserved. I filed a Freedom of Information request on September 14 for a copy of that document. Today, I received this response:

Dear Requestor,

On September 16, 2024, Mott Community College (the “College”) received your request for public records under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”). On September 20, 2024 in accordance with Section 5(2)(d) of the FOIA, the College sent you correspondence extending its time to respond to the Request by ten business days, until October 7, 2024. This correspondence shall serve as the College’s response to the Request and is a final determination (subject to your appeal rights, as explained below).

REQUEST: A copy of the document that Trustee Swanson handed to the Board Secretary as part of a motion he was making at that time.

RESPONSE: The undersigned does hereby certify pursuant to MCL 15.235(5)(b) that the public record requested does not exist.

Accordingly, your request is denied. The requested document does not exist and therefore cannot be produced. If a public record does not exist, FOIA requires MCC to certify the same in its response. MCL 15.235(5)(b). The Michigan Court of Appeals has held that the certification requirement in MCL 15.235(5)(b) simply requires a public body to state that a requested record does not exist. See Hartzell v Mayville Community Sch Dist, 183 Mich App 782, 787 (1990); Steinberg v City of Highland Park, unpublished opinion per curiam of the Court of Appeals, issued January 18, 2018 (Docket No. 334432) (2018 WL 472151).

Pursuant to the FOIA, you have the right to appeal the denial of your request by submitting a written appeal to MCC’s President. MCL 15.240. Alternatively, you may seek judicial review of the denial. If, after judicial review, the circuit court determines that MCC has not complied with the FOIA and orders disclosure of the requested information, you would have the right to attorney fees and damages. MCL 15.240.

Before seeking a written appeal to MCC’s President or judicial review, please notify us of your disagreement with the above denial so that we may attempt to resolve the issue.

Sincerely,

Kristi Dawley

FOIA Coordinator

So Swanson’s masterpiece doesn’t exist and I guess we’ll never know what the quickly scribbled down, multiple page, detailed motion he came up with in the few minutes here and there that he wasn’t on camera actually looked like.