First, a quick history from my point of view. The Texas Public Information Act says that any citizen can attend a public govt meeting and record it on video. In other words, having video of a meeting does not require that the govt entity itself record in fact, for example, Somervell County Commissioners Court does not do video recording, but you can get the meeting on audio, which they put in their website. I have myself in the past recorded a lot of govt meetings and put them on Youtube. Additional update Somervell County Hospital District/Glen Rose Medical Center paid in the neighborhood of $29,000 to outfit the board room for video.
For the GRMC/Somervell County Hospital District meetings, originally one could get the audio from a meeting through a public information request. Some years after that, Paul Harper arranged to have the meetings video recorded by the GRMC secretary who attended meetings, at which point the video was to uploaded to Somervell County Hospital District’s Youtube website. In 2017, Ron Hankins made it a point to insist that the video be posted within a few days of a meeting. That worked for a while and anyone could go to the Somervell County Hospital District channel to watch a meeting, but then the upload of the videos started falling off in 2024. I was looking for the videos and Sharla Wilson told me that she was busy (basically not prioritizing uploading and making the video available for citizens)
Note that, at that point, pre June 2025, there had been a resolution VOTED UPON to put the video up and make it available. Doing so was not a mere *courtesy* and there had never been another vote to negate this. So, after that thte video was more timely put back up, although occasionally I had to ask Sharla Wilson to please do it. The last time I emailed MS Wilson was on May 19, 2025 looking for the 4 videos (last date 4/29/2025) and she answered me on May 29, 2025 that they were uploaded. To be honest, I kind of didn’t like having to continually ask, seems like since it had been voted upon to do it, and Ron Hankins had made it a point to say the videos should be there within a few days afer the meeeting, that NO ONE should have to feel they were nagging to see them.
I think that was about the last time I asked about them. I pretty much quit going to meetings in 2025, tired of the corruption with law-breaking Judge Danny Chambers and County Attorney Trey Brown and was making a decision about whether to sue them over their actions. My hub had been in a lawsuit that he didn’t bring some years ago, it took 6 years to resolve itself, at which point Darrell Best and Somervell County Commissioners Court lost and had to pay. I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend my time doing another lawsuit, no matter how justified, especially in these times when I saw Trump looting the government AND, again, possibly years of fighting this where the Commissioners had insurance and could just appeal and appeal and appeal -life is short. I continue to hold great contempt for both Chambers and Brown.
Back to the Somervell County Hospital District. About a week or so ago, I was thinking about a couple of things in particular and wondered what the district had to say about them. Lo and behold the Hospital District video website on Youtube was GONE as well as ALL content on it. Now, I had not been paying attention for awhile but given there was a track record from MS Wilson of not timely posting the videos I thought I would find out. Turns out that the board passed a resolution in June, 2025 to no longer record the meetings, either in audio OR video, much less post for others to see. Interesting to note that it was the next month after I had asked Wilson about the video I could not find and she said she had uploaded the videos at least through May 29, 2025. That cannot be coincidence. Reply to my question about what happened to the videos, yellow highlighting is mine.
Just to be clear, I wanted to know if this ONLY applied to uploading the video to Youtube. Nope. The Somervell County Hospital District board decided not to record meetings on video OR audio at all (Side note that I have to question what these poeple on the board do if they need to record, at least on audio, executive sessions)
Here are the minutes from the June 2025 meeting at which this social media policy was voted on (partial)
And here is the policy voted upon, which is really for employees of Glen Rose Medical Center and not for the public at large
This is a ridiculous justification, ie “cybersecurity/vulnerability concerns” especially coming so soon after Ms Wilson, who was NOT quickly doing her job to upload video, did it after being asked. And especially, IF somehow the Somervell County Hospital District didn’t want to use YouTube anymore, deciding not even to record the meetings at all is a significant overreach, unless they are saying their own computer and video systems are susceptible to cybersecurity concerns… at a HOSPITAL where patient data is kept-PLEASE! The last time I actually attended a meeting, which was sometime in 2025, I saw that Wilson confirmed that the video setup was being updated to be part of the room. In other words, no longer was someone going to set up a video camera on a tripod to record the meeting but it would be done semi-automatically with a built in as part of what was paid for, presumably by taxpayers. So, all that money was spent and then not to use it? Or maybe they ONLY use it for things THEY think is important and it simply not important to them to inform the public so that they can see the reasoning for themselves of what goes on and who participated, who said what, that did they say, etc.Does Glen Rose Medical Center really not want the public to see and hear for themselves what is going on with citizen taxpayer money?
Side note that the City of Glen Rose records their meetings AND puts them on Youtube. Here is the latest one, from Sep 8 2026 and it is up within a short time of the regular meeting. City of Glen Rose welcome people to see what they are doing. As I recall in the last few years, they updated their meeting room with built in video, at least they’re not letting that money go to waste as Somervell County Hospital District is. Also, although this is not video, Somervell County Commissioners Court audio records the meetings and makes them available quickly after the meetings where ANYONE can go listen. So does the Somervell County Water District. AND Glen Rose ISD Just Somervell County Hospital DIstrict/Glen Rose Medical Center shows a pathetic lack of common sense and respect about taxpaying citizens
Let me repeat again, and I don’t happen to believe this but if they really didn’t want to use Youtube, to STOP RECORDING MEETINGS after doing it for many years and even spending money fairly recently for the video setup is nuts. (I have done an open records request asking for the receipts on what was spent and how much, including contractors, etc)
Now let’s get to the other meat of this. Even if Glen Rose Medical Center/Somervell County Hospital District wants to stop people from seeing the meetings, ANYONE can go in and record the meetings with their own cameras, iphones, audio devices, etc because that is part of the Texas Open Meetings Act.
From the Texas Public Information Handbook
§ 551.023. Recording of Meeting by Person in Attendance
(a) A person in attendance may record all or any part of an open meeting of a governmental body
by means of a tape recorder, video camera, or other means of aural or visual reproduction.
(b) A governmental body may adopt reasonable rules to maintain order at a meeting, including
rules relating to:
(1) the location of recording equipment; and
(2) the manner in which the recording is conducted.
(c) A rule adopted under Subsection (b) may not prevent or unreasonably impair a person from
exercising a right granted under Subsection (a
and what are those records?
Reference: Texas Public Information Act: p 14 https://newtools.cira.state.tx.us/upload/page/9093/publicinfo_hb.pdf
Public Information is Contained in Records of All Forms
Section 552.002(b) of the Government Code states the Public Information Act applies to recorded
information in practically any medium, including: paper; film; a magnetic, optical, solid state or
other device that can store an electronic signal; tape; Mylar; and any physical material on which
information may be recorded, including linen, silk, and vellum.40 Section 552.002(c) specifies
that “[t]he general forms in which the media containing public information exist include a book,
paper, letter, document, e-mail, Internet posting, text message, instant message, other electronic
communication, printout, photograph, film, tape, microfiche, microfilm, photostat, sound
recording, map, and drawing and a voice, data, or video representation held in computer memory.
A bit more. Frankly, I believe that Somervell County Hospital District LIKES it when people do not pay attention, do not attend meetings and enjoy making it difficult for people who cannot attend to see the meeting. If I am correct that the video equipment in the board room, which is on the 2nd floor of the hospital, is being used for other thigns, then the board definitely COULD record the meetings… but they won’t. If they violate the TExas Open Meetings Act, who knows?
Here is, from meetings I myself have recorded, a playlist of MY stuff on Youtube. Maybe they just don’t like people watching them eat, which I consider to be hugely rude I mean, they don’t HAVE to have their meetings at a time most people probably cannot attend.
Hell, Ron Hankins doesn[t even want people who attend the meeting to make comments.
Anyway, would be nice for people who are being taxed by this entity to exercise their right to attend, make public comments and bring a video camera to record and then, IF THEY WANT, to upload to Youtube. It is a shame this this particular board which includes Ron Hankins, Margaret Drake, Steven Vacek, Mary Collier, Tracy Byers, Max Bly and Joe Cathey, are, instead of being transparent, trying to hide what they are doing from the public. We ALL get to know
