HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES-01/29/2002-AdjournedJanuary 29, 2002
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS, COLORADO
Council -Manager Form of Government
Adjourned Meeting - 6:00 p.m.
An adjourned meeting of the Council of the City of Fort Collins was held on Tuesday, January 29,
2002, at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the City of Fort Collins City Hall. Roll Call was
answered by the following Councilmembers: Bertschy, Hamrick, Kastein, Martinez, Tharp, Wanner
and Weitkunat.
Staff Members Present: Fischbach, Harris, Special Counsel Brady.
Discussion Relating to
Alternate Ethics Review Board
Mayor Martinez stated that the initial purpose of this meeting was to discuss the next process steps
of the alternate ethics review board. He stated that the City has been served with the papers for a
lawsuit brought by Eric Hamrick against the City Council and the City of Fort Collins alternate
ethics review board. He outlined the main points of the lawsuit and asked if there was a motion to
suspend the alternate ethics review board's investigations pending the outcome of the lawsuit.
Councilmember Wanner made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Bertschy, to suspend the
alternate ethics review board's investigations pending the outcome of the lawsuit filed by Eric
Hamrick.
Councilmember Hamrick stated that he was in favor of the board continuing its work and that the
lawsuit would not hinder the alternate ethics review board's ability to seek information and make
a recommendation on whether or not changes should be made to the existing processes.
City Manager Fischbach noted that the audio portion of the cablecast was not working for the initial
part of the meeting.
Mayor Martinez repeated his opening comments after the audio portion of the cablecast was restored.
He spoke regarding the importance of allowing time for legal counsel to be obtained.
Councilmember Kastein asked if the lawsuit and the alternate ethics review board are addressing the
same issues and if efforts would be duplicated if the two run concurrently.
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January 29, 2002
Councilmember Hamrick stated that he raised other issues that could be addressed by the alternate
review board and that the lawsuit addresses specifics in the Code and does not address all of the
issues that were raised by Council.
Councilmember Weitkunat requested clarification regarding whether the ethics review board and the
lawsuit are both addressing Sections 2-568 and 2-569 of the Code regarding ethical rules of conduct
and stated that this would duplicate efforts. She stated that it seemed to be appropriate to suspend
the board.
Mayor Martinez stated that he would like to make sure that the citizen board has time to obtain
adequate legal protection and that he would support suspending the board for this reason.
The vote on the motion was as follows: Yeas: Councilmembers Bertschy, Kastein, Martinez, Tharp,
Wanner and Weitkunat. Nays: Councilmember Hamrick.
THE MOTION CARRIED.
City Manager Fischbach inquired if there would be an opportunity for public comments
Mayor Martinez stated that citizen input would be allowed.
Kelly Ohlson, 2040 Bennington Circle, spoke regarding the issue of open government and stated
that he had hoped that the Council could resolve this matter in a public work session format. He
stated that because the Council can go into executive session does not mean that it should and that
going into executive session does not mean that everything that is discussed in the session should
be private. He stated that the issue is whether revealing such information will do harm to the City
and that this determination should be left up to individual Councilmembers. He stated that there is
misunderstanding regarding attorney -client privilege and that the client need not necessarily keep
the information confidential. He stated that the broad specifics of the performance of the three
Council employees and why or why not they are deserving or not deserving of a raise should take
place in public. That discussion and that debate on broad specifics.
Ross Cunniff, chair of the alternate ethics review board, stated that he was at the meeting to
distribute a list of requests for information from the Council that the board needs to make further
progress on its investigation. He questioned whether the operation of the alternate ethics review
board can be shut down once it has been set in motion. He suggested that the Council seek a legal
opinion regarding how the alternate ethics review board may be discharged and closed.
Councilmember Wanner stated that the Council has suspended the board rather than dissolved it.
He stated that the intent is to continue the board pending the outcome of the lawsuit.
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Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 6:15 p.m.
J
ayor
ATTEST:
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January 29, 2002