About $250 million dollars in American Rescue Plan funds will flow into the Valley over the next two years.

A planning session with businesses and leaders to find out how they could best use and build on some of those federal dollars will take place Wednesday in private.

The Tribune Chronicle and The Vindicator's request to be inside that meeting was denied by the Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber, which is arranging the gathering at the Avalon in Howland.

Chamber President Guy Coviello told the news outlet that "it would not be a quorum of public sector bodies."

21 News reached out to Coviello, who was not available to go on camera, but did say the following: "This is mostly private companies coming together. It's not my place. The private businesses would have to invite the media there."

The mayors of Youngstown and Warren have promised transparency throughout this spending process. They will both be in this meeting on Wednesday. They say their overall goal is to find out how they can leverage some of these federal dollars to grow businesses that are already here or bring new ones in.

"I'm sort of surprised that the chamber wouldn't invite the public, but I don't see the law requiring the chamber to invite the public," media attorney David Marburger said. "It's only when you have a collection of people with governmental authorities to make decisions does the sunshine law apply."

Marburger says the open meetings law does not apply to a single official making a decision.