Big Bend residents barred from public meeting raise concerns over Open Meetings Act violations in village. About 12 people who were not allowed into a public meeting in Big Bend involving a controversial sports complex have rais ed concerns about potential violations of the Wisconsin Open Meeting Act. A TMJ4 viewer sent a picture to showing the crowd outside and an email expressing their frustration. "This seems very intentional to keep public input to a minimum," a viewer said.Watch: Big Bend residents raise concerns after being barred from public meeting over sports complex Big Bend residents raise concerns after barred from public meeting over sports complexTMJ4 followed up as others voiced their concerns that this could happen again at Thursday nights Special Village Board meeting, which concerned the Breck Sports Complex. Two weeks ago, Dianna Perregaux, who lives across the street from the proposed athletic complex, went to the Big Bend Village Hall Plan Commission meeting and saw people who were stopped before going in. "It was basically at their limit, at their capacity for the meeting. They basically had three or four police officers there keeping them to their limit or to their capacity," Perregaux said.The viewer who sent in the email and photo says they came to listen to the meeting and were denied access. "We watched them outside. They were standing at the window holding up signs and everything," Perregaux said.The viewers who reached out felt this was a violation of the Wisconsin Open Meeting Act. Other viewers also spoke out about the special village board meeting for Thursday.Bill Lueders, the president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, is also an expert on Wisconsin Open Meetings law."The law is fairly clear. If a public body meets, it must make reasonable accommodation to any member of the public who wishes to attend," Lueders said.The Village of Big Bend released a statement regarding the capacity limits."While we acknowledge the request to hold Thursdays meeting at a larger venue, we must be mindful of the financial impact on taxpayers. Holding a meeting at a larger location results in additional expenses," the Village of Big Bend said in a statement."In this situation involving the Village of Big Bend, I think it's clear they know already that the space that they intend to meet in is not going to be big enough. I think that's a potential violation of our open meetings law," Lueders said.The village says they are making reasonable accommodations, including making the fire department garage bay available for overflow crowds. However, Perregaux says that isn't enough."I worry about suppressing anyones opinion. It is freedom of speech. We get the right to say what we need to, to defend ourselves if we need to," Perregaux said.The meeting will be at 6 p.m. on Thursday. TMJ4 plans to be there.Facebook Statement from Village of Big Bend:ANNOUNCEMENT FROM CLERK KATIE SWIECIAK:While we acknowledge the requests to hold Thursdays meeting at a larger venue, we must be mindful of the financial impact on taxpayers. Hosting meetings at larger locations results in additional expenses, including equipment rental and the need for on-site IT support to monitor the live video feed. These costs are ultimately funded by the tax-paying residents of the Village of Big Bend.The Village Hall provides reasonable accommodation for individuals wishing to attend Village Board meetings and allows us to conduct these meetings without incurring additional costs. For this reason, continuing to hold regular Village Board meetings at the Big Bend Village Hall remains the most fiscally responsible approach. All Village Board meetings are streamed live on YouTube and include an open comment section; however, please note that the comment section is not actively monitored during the meeting.For additional accommodation, the Big Bend Fire Department garage bay will be available to attendees who are unable to be seated in the board room. A livestream of the meeting will be displayed on a television, and additional seating will be provided. Please note that this space is a working garage bay, and typical garage odors may be present.This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.Its about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for TMJ4 on your device.Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.Report a typo or error // Submit a news tip ...read more read less