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CCMtg05-11-09SMMin LONGWOOD CITY COMMISSION Longwood City Commission Chambers 175 West Warren Avenue Longwood„ Florida MINUTES SPECIAL N[EETIlvG MAY 11, 2009 5:00 P.M. Present: Mayor H.G. "Butch" Bundy Deputy Mayor John C. Maingot Commissioner Joe Durso Commissioner Mike Bolt Commissioner Brian D. Sackett Andrew Dayes, Acting City Attorney Tom Jackson, Acting City Administrator Sarah M. Mirus, City Clerk Commander Russ Cohen, Interim Director of Community Services Dawn Jackson, Personnel Manager Ryan Spinella, Executive Assistant David Dowda, Interim Police Chief Absent: Teresa S. Roper, City Attorne3~ (Excused) 1. CALL TO ORDER. Mayor Bundy called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. 2. BUSINESS. A. City Commission review the Listing ofthe Second Top 10 Candidates and the Listing. of the. Managers in Transition that were submitted by the Range Riders. Mr. Jackson said at the May 4~' C;ity Commission Meeting it was the intent for the Commission to hold a Special Work Session and an Agenda was put out for this Special Meeting. He stated at that time, it was the consensus of the Commission to.:review the listing of the Top 10 Candidates and the Listing of the Managers in Transition submitted to the Range Riders and to select the candidates the Commission would like to interview for the Administrator position. He said the next point they made was to determine a schedule for file interviews for those candidates, the format for the interview process, and establish a tentative schedule for the events. The last point was to act upon the selection of the position of an ~ Acting City Administrator. He af.Eu-med the Agenda Items they have tonight differ from this and he had a concern that there was a modified version of what was established at a public meeting. CC OS-11-0!x/299 Deputy Mayor Maingot said he concurred with the Acting City ~;I Administrator and he did not know how it evolved to the latest Agenda , they received. He stated he expressed his concern to the City Attorney. He said his other concern was that the Meeting noticed to the public does not conform to the actual recording of the May 4~' Commission Meeting. He stated they cannot legally take any action on any matter this evening, because they would not be in conformity with due public notice: He said, with all due. respect to Mr. Andrew Dayes, he was not the City Attorney and should not represent the City Attorney at this Meeting. He affirmed that he had some other areas of concern. He inquired when the Commission voted to reject the other Top 11 Candidates and proceed to the second group of 10 Candidates. He stated they never discussed hiring a permanent City Administrator at their May 4~' Meeting and to do so tonight would be circumventing the process.. He confirmed that Mr. Richard Simmons stated, in writing, that he put Ms. Powell on the list because he was asked to do so by one or two Commissioners. He reiterated that the Agenda was incorrect and therefore, improper public notice was given of this Meeting. He stated there was nothing. to be discussed at this Meeting that can't be discussed as an Agenda Item at their next Commission Meeting. Mayor Bundy asked.Mr. Dayes if he had a response regarding this. I Mr. Dayes said the concerns Deputy Mayor Maingot had voiced were also made known to Mr. Donovan Roper, who has reviewed both versions of ~ the Notice and has deemed the version made public to be satisfactory and legal. Deputy Mayor Maingot said he spoke with Ms. Parley Clemons from the Attorney's Office and she totally agrees with what he had just stated. He stated somewhere along the line the wording got changed. Furthermore, he asked Ms. Clemons to read and carefully study our Charter and she also agreed that the only people they can consider are those who have submitted their applications to the. Range Riders. He said that the gentleman from Range Riders did point out that our Charter was rather peculiar. He stated,. until such time that they change the wording, they have to abide by the City Charter. Mayor Bundy said first of all at the beginning Deputy Mayor Maingot stated that Mr. Dayes was not qualified to act as City Attorney because he was not the duly appointed City Attorney, and inquired why then would they listen to Parley Clemons. Secondly, at no time had Mr. Simmons stated 1VIs. Powell was not. qualified. Deputy Mayor Maingot said this had been. provided in writing. Ms. Mirus read into the record a letter from Mr. Richard Simmons dated ' April 13, 2009 to the Mayor and City Commissioners. CC OS-11-09/300 Mayor Bundy said this letter clearly stated he felt Ms. Powell was qualified. He stated she did not have ten years experience as preferred, but she did have five years experience as required by the Charter. He said it was pointed out by Ms. Jacksor.~ when Mr. Simmons was here that the ten years was placed in the ad by th.e previous City Administrator and previous Finance Director. He stated the City Attorney addressed this at the last Meeting and stated what the Commission was doing met with the Charter requirements. Deputy Mayor Maingot said he would like to put on record that what they were doing. violates the Charter. He stated until the Charter is changed, they have no choice but to honor what is in black and white. He declared they cannot entertain the Managers in Transition or Ms. Powell. He said he had another opinion on this and those. people also agree with his interpretation of the Charter. He stated that based upon what happens at this Meeting, he intended to go :Forward fo higher authorities to obtain a piling on this and make a proper determination. Commissioner Holt said they ha.ven't even started the. Meeting yet, and they were beating up on one person. He asked Mr. Dayes if he was ahowed to sit in on the meeting. Mr. Dayes responded in the affi::mative and said he has done so on more than one occasion. He stated the Charter requires for a City Attorney that is a member and in good standing of the Florida Bar. He said that he is an Attorney in good standing. He pointed out that Parley Clemons is not an Attorney or member of the Florida Bar. He stated 1VIs. Clemons is not authorized to speak on Mr. or Ms. Roper's behalf. He said Mr. Roper has addressed the Commission's concerns on several occasions, including an electronic mail with regards to tie Items on the Special Meeting. He stated with regards to the Charter and i;he list that is to be compiled by the Range Riders, the Florida City and Colmty Managers Association, or the International City Managers Association, they are a Committee to be appointed by the City Commission for the purpose of selecting candidates for the job. They make recommendations for people they feel to be satisfactory candidates. He said he did not see anywhere in the Charter that references a division of tho:;e candidates, be it in the Top 10, Top 20, and so on. He stated they make recommendations and the Commission, according to the Charter, makes selection from the recommendations. He affirmed that how they compile those recommendations is solely their purview. Commissioner Holt said they started the process and received applications for this position. They received eighty plus applicants that responded. According to the Charter, the Range Riders reviewed the applications. He ~ stated they went through this convoluted process and were where they are today. He said the only stipulations they were pressured under, at this CC OS-11-09/301 point, was the number of days the Acting City Administrator had ~ ~ remaining. ~ Mr. Dayes said the Range Riders need to make their recommendations and the candidates are to be selected from their recommendations. Commissioner Sackett said he was in full agreement with Deputy Mayor Maingot. He stated. that. he has sent electronic mails to Mr. Roper and Ms. Mirus. He said the Agenda that was published was not in relationship to the Meeting they had May 4~. He~ stated the .first Agenda Ms. Mirus did for May 11, 2009 was more of what they talked about. Commissioner.Sackett moved to move this Agenda, properly worded, to a Regular Agenda Item at the next Commission Meeting on May 18~. Seconded by Deputy Mayor Maingot and failed to carry by a two/three roll call vote with Mayor Bundy, Commissioners Durso and Holt voting nay. Mayor Bundy said they will move forward to narrowing down to a list of candidates they would like to invite for interviews. He suggested they look at the list of the Second 10, and Managers in Transition, including Ms. Powell's name. He stated if there was a suggestion from any City Commissioner of someone they would like to bring forward for an interview, they can discuss those. ' Deputy Mayor Maingot said he would like to recommend from the second list Anthony Barrett, Sarah Hannah, and Bill Looney as his three candidates. Mayor Bundy suggested they make recommendations, discuss these, or they could vote on them individually. Commissioner Durso said he would like to recommend Anthony Barrett, Robert Eustis, and Katrina Powell. Commissioner Holt recommended Sarah Hannah, Lillie Ladimore, Katrina Powell, and Henry Booker. Commissioner Sackett recommended Anthony Barrett, Sarah Hannah, Richard Wollangk, and Charles Saddler. Mayor Bundy recommended Katrina Powell and Henry Booker. Mayor Bundy said Anthony Barrett, Sarah Hannah, and Katrina Powell were recommended by three Commissioners. He asked if it was the consensus of the Commission that these three individuals be brought in for interviews. CC OS-11-09/302 Commissioner Holt moved to approve Mr: Anthony Barrett, Ms. Sarah Hannah, and Ms, Katrina Powell as the Top 3 Candidates for the City Administrator':; position. Seconded by Commissioner Durso. Deputy Mayor Maingot said he was adhering to the Charter. He stated it excludes anyone else they might recommend to the Range Riders, including the Managers in Tran.~ition. He.said they have to work with the list that was provided. He statec+, in his opinion, there were other people better qualified than Ms. Powell. Commissioner Durso said a lot ~~f the statements being made were highly political. He stated it was a fact that City Administrator's will do their five to ten years and then move on. He said they talked at length about the Charter and even the Range Riders think our Charter is inadequate to address this particular concern. ]fie stated he was well aware that the law must be addressed and this Commission has been protected adequately by the City Attorney. He said that any legal body would be hard pressed to tell a City Commission that they can't have a choice for their City Administrator. He stated he has :met with and worked with Ms. Powell and was confident that she is qualified to do the job. He said he would like to see more of a conscientious, fact: based, and less opinion based decision by ~ the Commission. He stated the fixture of Longwood depends upon the ~ action of the Commission. Commissioner Holt asked the Acting City Attorney if they were breaking any law, Charter, or doing. anything illegal as a City Commissioner with the three candidates brought before them. Mr. Dayes said to the extent that the three candidates are on the list provided by the Range Riders, then that is in line with the Charter's requirements. Motion carried by a three/two roll call vote with Deputy Mayor Maingot a~1d Commissioner Sackett voting nay. Discussion was held regarding th:e procedure to interview the candidates. Mr. Jackson suggested Ms. Jackson present the frame work of the proposed contract and let the candidates know the areas of negotiation. • Mayor Bundy said they could ha ve Ms. Jackson pass along the contract that-was previously submitted with the salary range inserted. The Commission recessed at 6:00 p:m. and reconvened at 6:05 p.m. Commissioner Holt reviewed his availability for interviews and meetings. CC OS-11-09/303 Mayor Bundy suggested they bring the candidates in on Monday,. May ~J 18~ and those who cannot meet with them on Monday can meet with them on Tuesday, May 19~'. He said they could hold a Special Meeting on Tuesday, May 19, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. to rank the candidates. Commissioner Durso left the meeting at 6:12 p.m. and returned at 6:13 p.m. Mayor Bundy inquired if the Commission desired. to ask the candidates the ten prepared. questions as they did the last time., It was the consensus of the Commission they did not need to ask the prepared questions. Mayor Bundy suggested they use a point system with 3 being the highest to rank the candidates. Deputy Mayor Maingot said there may be some points that need to be clarified as far as what they are set to offer the candidates. Mayor Bundy said there were items in the contract that were not going to change. He stated they would be given a copy of the contract when being invited here and they .would move forward from there. Ms. Minis said the last time they conducted interviews; one of the candidates had questions. She inquired if the Commission wanted to entertain a question and answer fonzm. Commissioner Durso said people asking to serve the City should be able to ask the Commission what direction they_would like to take at a public forum. He stated there should be the. flexibility for each candidate to be able to ask questions within the range of topics being discussed. Mayor Bundy said the only time the Commission will be together publicly will be at the 6:30 p.m. Special Meeting, so they will not have. a public forum with the candidates unless they provide each candidate five to ten minutes to address the Commission. Commissioner Durso ,suggested the candidates provide a summation and this would allow for the candidates to be seen in a public forum. Mayor Bundy said they would be provided five minutes for a summary or questions and he would time them. Ms. Minis inquired if Item Two would be the ranking of the candidates. Mayor Bundy responded in the affirmative. He said staff would be instructed to extend the contract to the number one candidate. ~J CC OS-11-09/304 Mr. Jackson said they would be presenting each candidate with the ' contract. He inquired if a candidate indicates they cannot live with these offerings, would the Commission consider Mr. Henry Booker as the Alternate. Commissioner Durso moved that an Alternate be selected in the case where it is made clear to the three candidates what the contract consists of and one of them decides they are not interested and rejects the contract. Seconded by Commissioner Holt. Mayor Bundy clarified that Mr. Booker will be notified he is the Alternate should either of the three primary candidates turn down the offer prior to coming in for the interview. Commissioner Holt suggested making it time sensitive for a reply back on the contract. Mayor Bundy said the. candidate;s need to indicate whether the contract is agreeable to them when responding, and if they can be hereon Monday and Tuesday. He stated that Mr. Booker should be notified he is the Alternate and the contract also be sent to him. He said to let Mr. Booker know at that time that he will be notified by a specific time whether he needs to be available for Monday and. Tuesday. Motion carried by a unanimous roll call vote. Mr. Jackson clarified. that. the contract being offered was the final version being offered with the exception of the negotiated salary, depending on the qualifications. B. City Commission has the option to take the action to act upon hiring a permanent replacement for thy: City Administrator position or Acting City Administrator. 3. ADJOURN. Mayor Bundy adjourned the meeting at 6:37 p.m. ~ HL~yw od G. Bund , Jr., r Y ATTEST: Sarah 1VI. A'Iirus, MMC, MBA City Clerk CC OS-11-09/305 This Page Left Blank Intentionally. i CC OS-11-09/306