The Warren County Commission violated the state’s Sunshine Law when it met with Warrenton Building Inspector James Daly in August of 2009 to inform him that the county would not apply for a building permit for its new administration building. That is the conclusion of Jean Maneke, a lawyer who specializes in Missouri’s open meetings and records law which is referred to as the Sunshine Law. County commissioners acknowledged Tuesday that they did not provide notice of the meeting as required by state statute and called the omission “unintentional.” “We were trying to reach out and tell them what our plans would be,” Warren County Presiding Commissioner Arden Engelage said. “It didn’t constitute a Sunshine Law (violation in our minds), but we may have been wrong.” According to commissioners, they met with Daly as a courtesy to inform him of the county’s position that they weren’t legally required to obtain or pay for a building permit from the city of Warrenton for the county’s new administration building. They said that they made the decision after conferring with special counsel. The building permit issue is at the center of a bitter court battle that has pitted the county against the city. The county filed a legal action against the city in Warren County circuit court in October 2010 asking the court to decide the matter. Oral arguments were heard earlier this month and the judge has taken the case under advisement. The cost of the permits is $27,406. Commissioners said Tuesday they never took a formal vote on their decision not to apply for the permit or to meet with Daly. They acknowledged it was never posted as an agenda item for their regular meeting. Instead, they reached a consensus during an open session that the county, as a political subdivision, wasn’t required to pay for the permits to another taxing entity, in this case the city. The Missouri Sunshine Law sets out the specific instances when a meeting, record or vote must be posted and when a meeting may be held in closed session. The statute requires a public governmental body’s meeting to be scheduled 24 hours in advance, unless such notice is impossible. Commissioners told The Record Tuesday they recalled meeting with Daly after lunch one day. They said the meeting was not planned ahead of time. It was their intention, they said, to give Daly notice about their plan to not pay for permits “as a courtesy.” In the week following the meeting with Daly, the county closed on the 3 acres the commission purchased as the building site for the administration building. Commissioners added neither the meeting nor their decision to not pay for the building permit was something they were trying to hide. “It was just a friendly, ‘Let’s give (Daly) a heads up,’ ” Engelage said. “We didn’t intend it to be a violation. We were trying to be up front.” Southern District Commissioner Hubie Kluesner added: “We were there to inform (the city of our intention).” Maneke said the law is clear that the meeting between the commissioners and Daly was an official meeting subject to the provisions of the Sunshine Law. “Anytime you have a quorum of a public body and they are discussing public business it is a meeting for Sunshine Law purposes and that requires notice and an agenda,” Maneke explained. The city of Warrenton referenced a potential Sunshine Law violation regarding the August meeting in a Nov. 9, 2009, letter to the county which was obtained from the court file in the pending litigation between the two entities. According to the letter, drafted by its attorney, the city was “disappointed” over the meeting and that its position not to apply and or pay for the permit was “delivered to an employee of the city by the full commission unannounced and without any notice to them or the undersigned.” The letter also stated that “...this visit by the Commission was neither scheduled with the Building Department nor posted at the Warren County Courthouse by the Commission...”