Public Architects Committee

There have been projects I have worked on where we wanted to prevent any publication until all the facts are found and an appropriate solution defined.

I believe a letter of confidentiality would be ideal for this particular project. Any help that could be provide regarding this would be appreciated.  Comments or concerns regarding this tool, a standardized form letter would all be helpful.

 

Thank you!

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Michael Krause AIA
City of Milwaukee Design & Construction
Milwaukee WI
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Bruce Bockstael FAIA
Chief Architect, State of Connecticut
Dept. of Public Works-State of Connecticut
Hartford CT
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Normally, if there is a potential for litigation involvment you can have your legal entity declare the information being developed as priviliged client lawyer material and not be exposed to FOI or other publication.

I would have thought you are governed by open records laws.  It makes sense to me that confidentiality statements would be unacceptable under those circumstances.  If you are working with only select developers or potential purchasers, again, it seems to me like trying to go around the public bidding process.  I know city workers in another Wisconsin city (planning staff and others) were made to sign confidentiality statements regarding purchase and redevelopment of a city controlled parcel so a corporation would remain in the city rather than move to the suburbs.  Maybe you should be consulting with your city attorney to get the proper read on this.

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Roger Retzlaff AIA

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OPen meeting and record laws include a number of exceptions. Most common are meetings/recoirds related to personnel, litigation, and real estate transactions. It is not uncommon for a potential developer to ask planning staff for a letter of confidentiality before beginning to discuss a planned project.  City counsel should approve any such letter because there may be specific language required and there may be precedent on when and to what extent a municipal official can offer confidentiality without breaching their fiduciary responsibilities.  It would be wise to have an "approved for form and content" signature block for counsel.
David

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David Stone AIA
Associate Vice President and Chief Facilities Officer
Governors State University
University Park IL
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