RAYMOND – Dana Desjardins, the Raymond selectman who refused to turn in backup disks connected to his town-owned laptop at last week’s board meeting, apparently turned the disks in to town hall on Friday of last week.

In doing so, Desjardins avoided a possible lawsuit being threatened by Laurie Forbes, the chair of the Raymond Technology Committee, who had asked for the backup disks in a request under the state’s Freedom of Access law.

Forbes said she was concerned about Desjardins’ claim that a computer virus had infected the laptop, and whether that virus had spread to other town computers. Desjardins believed he was being unfairly targeted by Forbes, and was skeptical regarding the motives behind her request.

If he had failed to hand in the disks, Forbes could have pursued the matter in Maine’s Supreme Court, an action that would have cost Desjardins $500 if the court sided with Forbes.

“I was going to lose in court no matter what,” Desjardins said. “I would have gladly paid the $500 but I just want to move on. I don’t see any further need to beat a dead horse.”

Forbes was likewise ready to move on post-receipt of the disks. She said no virus has been found on the disks.

“I think we’re done,” Forbes said of the long-running saga. “I feel like it is at least.”

Board of Selectmen Chairman Joe Bruno had also threatened an unspecified type of discipline, possibly censure, of Desjardins at a future meeting, but Forbes said Desjardins’ compliance prevented a “public dressing down” which she said would have coincided with Desjardins’ last meeting, “which I don’t think anyone wants to see.”

Desjardins has maintained he had nothing to hide on the disk or in his e-mail, some of which critics say include harsh statements about town employees but which Desjardins said are honest depictions. He believes the Freedom of Access law, which forces town employees and officials to hand over public documents to anyone who wants to view them, is too loose and shouldn’t have pertained to his case.

“It’s a flawed law. You should have to have a good reason to request (the information),” Desjardins said, adding that he can see a situation occurring where someone who wants to make a nuisance of himself might request information “flippantly” from all selectmen and town employees once a month.

“I can (request through the Freedom of Access law) anything and anyone I want. That’s not right. It’s one thing getting somebody’s e-mail, but it should be in writing, and there should be a good reason,” Desjardins said.

As one of the town’s five selectmen, Desjardins used a town-owned laptop computer for much of his time on the board, up to fall 2009 when he stopped using e-mail, citing his discomfort with the amount of town business being conducted between town officials via e-mail.

In early January, Desjardins turned his Dell laptop in to town hall with the hard disk, where information is stored, “wiped clean,” according to Kevin Woodbrey, the town’s technology director, even though town officials are required by law to keep copies of official e-mails. He excused his deletion, however, saying he believed the e-mail was backed up on the town’s server, which it was not, according to Woodbrey.

In May, at the board meeting where Desjardins announced that he would resign in November, Desjardins surprised those who believed he had no backup by waving a disk over his head, claiming it included everything he had deleted from the town-owned laptop.

Desjardins then told a local newspaper in August that he deleted the e-mail and wiped clean the hard drive, believing the computer had been infected by a virus.

Those who had criticized Desjardins, including Forbes, became alarmed after reading about the virus in the local press and worried about whether the virus had infected the town’s computer network.

Following Forbes’ claim under the Freedom of Access law, Desjardins was given until last week’s board meeting to turn in the disks, but refused, saying he didn’t trust Forbes with the information contained in the numerous e-mails that were stored on the disk.

On Friday, three days after the meeting, Desjardins had a change of mind and turned the disks over to a “third party” at town hall, fulfilling his obligation under the Freedom of Access law.

The disks were checked in a way that wouldn’t threaten the town’s network, Forbes said. Forbes added that the disks were a “hot potato” at town hall when Desjardins dropped them off and went to a new employee who had little knowledge of the contentious issue. “She didn’t know the history, and she is independent,” Forbes said.