David Olsen
Executive Director, Jefferson Development Corporation
305 South Main Street
Jefferson, WI 53549

Dear Mr. Olsen,

I received your Jefferson Development Corporation (JDC) letter of October 19.

It is incredible that you now claim not to understand which records I seek. I doubt that any reasonable person reading my past letters would have any confusion regarding "what it is that I really want to see." I've stated it plainly in writing many times over the course of the past six weeks. I request the minutes and agendas of the Jefferson Development Corporation from
March 1, 1994 until the present.

By suggesting that an explanation and a private meeting is necessary before you will release these documents to me is a clear violation of open records law, Wis. Stat. sec. 19.35(1)(i), as
I have previously explained.

Obviously, I don't know the contents of these minutes, so I can hardly explain to you what I'll find interesting. I assume that reading the minutes will give me a more detailed understanding of the JDC's function since 1994. Earlier minutes are available in City Hall. I've received the minutes and the tape of the August 1999 meeting but no others.

Generic quotes without context from Attorney General James Doyle given at a public open records seminar intended for law enforcement personnel are not helpful in this situation, unless you're implying that you had a private meeting with him and he gave specific suggestions about my open records requests.

"A little conversation will go a long way," indeed. Imagine if you were trying to have a conversation with someone and their robotic answers consisted of repeated "No response needed" and "See paragraph nine of previous conversation" and "Wait seven days for next letter from same person wearing a different hat."

I most certainly asked to schedule a meeting. I asked to address this matter before the JDC Board, in public as opposed to private meetings, and so far these suggestions have been denied.

However, it should be clear to me by now that that this stonewalling and obfuscation will continue indefinitely in your correspondence, but perhaps at a meeting I might have a greater chance of getting a direct answer to a simple question.

Please contact me immediately to schedule a meeting to be held before the end of this week. I would like to know who will be present at the meeting. I will record the meeting and publicize the transcript. I expect to leave this meeting with all the JDC records I have sought in all my previous open records requests. Please prepare this material in advance.

Sincerely,

John J. Foust
235 South Main Street
Jefferson, WI 53549
674-5200