Gretna identifies its FOIA officer; the appointment and training records still matter

Residents now have a named contact

The Town’s September 23 response identifies Michael G. Turner as its FOIA officer and supplies libertycommercial010@gmail.com as the official-use email.

It lists a business address of 110 Henry Street and a mailing address of P.O. Box 150, Gretna.

Residents can use the designated contact to seek Town records and assistance with the process.

The Town homepage checked September 26 also includes a FOIA Policy link. That confirms a public link exists.

This report does not claim the complete linked policy was successfully extracted and audited.

The appointment claim needs its record

Turner says Town Manager Bill Gillespie previously appointed him verbally and that Town Council confirmed the appointment through a September 23 motion. The letter does not state the earlier verbal appointment date.

The published minutes archive checked September 26 ended at August 11, so the claimed September 23 action has not been independently verified in those published minutes.

Jones requested the officer’s identity, designation and training information on September 16 and again raised those issues in subsequent correspondence. The later identification is a concrete improvement in the public record.

Timing alone does not prove that the Town previously lacked an officer or that the reporting caused a new appointment.

Virginia’s designation statute does not itself require a written appointment or Council vote. The word verbal therefore does not establish an invalid appointment.

The Town’s governing authority, actual appointment date and confirming motion are the proper records to examine.

Training has a specific statutory standard

Virginia Code § 2.2-3704.2 requires qualifying FOIA training at least once during each consecutive two-calendar-year period. For legal counsel who also serves as the public body’s FOIA officer, the training must be offered or approved by the Virginia FOIA Advisory Council, and completion must be documented.

The September 23 letter describes continuing legal education classes and seminars associated with the Virginia State Bar and Virginia Municipal League. It gives no course names, dates, completion record or Council approval documentation.

That description is not enough to verify compliance independently. It also does not prove that the referenced training failed to qualify.

The useful follow-up is narrow: identify the course, completion date and approval basis, and produce the existing certificate or equivalent training record. A professional title does not replace the statutory documentation requirement.

Public identification should make access easier

The officer’s role is to help the public request records and coordinate legal compliance. The current website-notice law covers towns with more than 250 residents; the separate officer-designation and training section has no small-town population exemption.

Residents should be able to find the contact, procedures and fee policy without negotiating a private introduction.

Gretna Junction’s publisher is the requester in this dispute. We are reporting the Town’s designation and the statutory standard, while keeping the appointment history and training status open to correction when the supporting records arrive.