HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/02/2012 RegularCity of Springfield
Regular Meeting
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF
THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD
MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012
The City of Springfield Council met in regular session in the Council Chambers, 225 Fifth Street,
Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, July 2, 2012 at 7:00 p.m., with Mayor Lundberg presiding.
ATTENDANCE
Present were Mayor Lundberg and Councilors Pishioneri, VanGordon, Moore, Ralston and Woodrow.
Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, Assistant City Manager Jeff Towery, City Attorney
Mary Bridget Smith, City Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff.
Councilor Wylie was absent (excused).
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mayor Lundberg.
SPRINGFIELD UPBEAT
CONSENT CALENDAR
1. Claims
2. Minutes
a. June 11, 2012 — Work Session
b. June 18, 2012 — Work Session
c. June 18, 2012 — Regular Meeting
3. Resolutions
a. RESOLUTION NO. 2012 -12 — A RESOLUTION TO ACCEPT PERMIT PROJECT P30400
SBEDRJCK PARTITION CUL -DE -SAC ON ASTER ST.
4. Ordinances
5. Other Routine Matters
a. Approve Changes Regarding Salary Indexing; Approve Changes to the City Manager's
Employment Contract.
b. Approve the City Manager to Sign a Contract with Kronos TeleStaff for Fire Department
Scheduling.
c. Authorize the City Manager to Enter into an Agreement with Lane County to Act as an Agent
for the City for Engineering and Materials Testing Services.
d. Approval of Liquor License Endorsement for 3 of a Kind Deli, Located at 2155 Olympic
Street, Springfield, Oregon.
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Council Regular Meeting Minutes
July 2, 2012
Page 2
e. Approval of Liquor License Endorsement for Vino and Vango, Located at 236 Main Street,
Springfield, Oregon.
IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR PISHIONERI WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR
RALSTON TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A
VOTE OF 5 FOR AND 0 AGAINST (1 ABSENT — WYLIE).
ITEMS REMOVED
PUBLIC HEARINGS - Please limit comments to 3 minutes. Request to speak cards are available at
both entrances. Please present cards to City Recorder. Speakers may not
yield their time to others.
1. Public Safety Special Levy Election.
RESOLUTION NO. 2012-13 — A RESOLUTION REFERRING TO THE ELECTORS OF THE
CITY A BALLOT MEASURE AUTHORIZING THE LEVY OF A FIVE YEAR LOCAL
OPTION TAX FOR PUBLIC SAFETY PURPOSES IN THE AMOUNT OF $1.28 OF
ASSESSED VALUE BEGINNING IN 2013/14.
Finance Director Bob Duey presented the staff report on this item. The current 5 -year Public Safety
Special Option Levy would expire at the end of the next fiscal year (June 30,. 2013). After two work
sessions, Council directed staff to prepare a Resolution with Ballot Title for a public hearing on June
18 requesting a local option levy for $1.28 be placed on the November 6, 2012 election.
This public,hearing was held on June 18 and a resolution was adopted by the City Council that same
evening directing the City staff to submit the required paperwork to Lane County elections for
placement on the November ballot.
Upon subsequent contact with Lane County Elections it had been determined that ORS 280.075
required additional language be included within the Ballot Title Statement that reads "The estimated
tax cost for this measure is an ESTIMATE ONLY based on the best information available from the
county assessor at the time of the estimate. " This additional wording was not part of the 175 word
count.
Staff was recommending rather than simply adding the additional language to the Ballot Title and
possibly risk an appeal, a second public hearing be held to adopt a second resolution with all identical
language except for the single added statement.
If adopted, the resolution and ballot title would be filed with the Lane County Elections Office.
Mayor Lundberg opened the public hearing.
No one appeared to speak.
Mayor Lundberg closed the public hearing.
IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR PISHIONERI WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR
RALSTON TO ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2012-13. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A
VOTE OF 5 FOR AND 0 AGAINST (1 ABSENT — WYLIE).
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July 2, 2012
Page 3
BUSINESS FROM THE AUDIENCE
1. Curtiss Greer, Springfield, OR. Mr. Greer said when coming into town the other day, he saw
a motorcycle officer with an 8 -10 year old boy sitting with him pointing the radar gun at
vehicles that passed by. He felt this was the best public relations move possible for the Police
Department.
2. Mary Salinas, Springfield, OR. Ms. Salir & aid she had come to speak about homelessness.
She wanted disability checks for the homeless as that was the answer. She hadn't found any
serious problems with it in all the years she had been thinking about it. There were small
problems, but it was full of hope and most programs didn't even aim at a solution, but were
only temporary fixes. She felt they should receive disability checks because homelessness was
cruel and unusual punislunent. On cold winter nights when she arrived home, she remembered
what an amazing miracle it was to go into her own place. A couple of years ago she was
homeless for a couple of days in Eugene even though she had a disability check coming.
During that time, she felt there was something wrong with her and that she couldn't take care
of herself. She didn't know how she would get through the night and it was terrifying. She
couldn't concentrate and lost her backpack. Being homeless didn't mean standing on a corner
with a sign; it meant 24/7 having no place to call home.
3. Frank Papagni, Eugene, OR. Mr. Papagni ;said he was here to speak about David Logan being
retained as the City of Springfield Prosecutor. He read his comments. He respectfully
recommended Dave Logan to be retained as the City of Springfield's City Prosecutor. As a
prosecutor for more than 35 years, Mr. Papagni had known Mr. Logan professionally
believing he was exceptionally well qualified. Mr. Logan was well respected by city, state and
federal judges for his ability to discern cases which should be tried and those that should be
negotiated. Springfield Police officers knew and trusted his judgment and respected what he
was doing. Mr. Logan's judgment was from the years he served as Deputy District Attorney
for Marion and Tillamook counties, and as City Prosecutor for the City of Springfield. His
consistently intelligent and fair decisions earned him complete trust from both judges and
officers alike. Because of Mr. Logan's knowledge of criminal law, he was hired by Lane
Community College as an instructor and for the past fifteen years had taught hundreds of
students, which spoke well for Springfield. Mr. Logan had represented what was right and
good about the City of Springfield and it was Mr. Papagni's sincere hope he continued in the
position he served so well. Mr. Papagni was a Springfield resident for many years and served
in Lane County for a few years. He could not speak badly of anyone that wanted this position,
but could speak well of Mr. Logan. A prosecutor knowing the difference between cases that .
should be tried and those that should be negotiated could save the City thousands of dollars.
The judge that trusted his judgment, as Judge Strickland trusted Mr. Logan's, would save the
City thousands of dollars as opposed to taking trial cases that should not go. Defense lawyers
that trusted Mr. Logan would negotiate cases or resolve cases knowing they had an able
prosecutor with good judgment, not a person who tried to massage his ego or improve his
stats. These were things Mr. Papagni thought were important to the City of Springfield. As a
former resident of the City of Springfield and having worked with Springfield police officers,
Mr. Papagni asked Council to give serious thought to retaining Mr. Logan's services for future
years. He thought it would be a big mistake not to. He thanked Council for their time.
4. John DelNero, Eugene, OR. Mr. DelNero said he worked at Lane Community College as the
lead instructor for the Criminal Justice Program and the Cooperative Education Program. He
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July 2, 2012
Page 4
spoke on behalf of Dave Logan and his relationship with the college and the City of
Springfield. It was a very reciprocal relationship for the students at LCC. Over the years Mr.
Logan had been evaluated as one of LCC's best instructors particularly in criminal law
procedures, was very accessible to students and highly involved with the students. He had
placed many students with the City of Springfield in the Police Department and the City
Prosecutors Officers. LCC was very pleased with that relationship. Mr. Logan had reached out
by working with the reserve academy and working with future Springfield reserves, and had
done an outstanding job. He had always been accessible and extremely honorable. Mr. Logan
also served on their advisory committee which helped to form what they wanted the students
to do and learn while at LCC, and to teach the kind of professionalism and behavior expected
from Police Officers and public servants. He hoped the City would retain Dave Logan. He was
an exceptional individual.
5. Davis Lewis, Springfield, OR. Mr. Lewis served as a Sergeant of the Springfield Police
Department and had been with the City for about 28 years. He spoke regarding the
relationship between judges, defense attorneys, prosecutors, and police officers. It was an
interesting work group and was an adversarial system, but required a lot of cooperation. When
cooperation was not part of that process, things could go wrong. When a case came before the
prosecutor, the prosecutor would go before the defense. The defense attorney and judge were
involved and the relationship they developed over the years expedited justice more than
anything. The only cases that went to trial were the ones that had to go to trial. When defense
attorneys knew the reputation and had trust for the person on the other side, they were not
nearly as likely to take cases to trial which took money away from police officer overtime,
from the defense fund and everyone's time. Mr. Logan worked from his home more than the
courtroom and that saved the city a lot of money. There was recently a lot of turnover in the
District Attorney's office which caused turmoil. More trials were occurring and police officers
were unclear of direction. Mr. Logan had been in Springfield all of his life, was dedicated to
the City and hadn't had a pay raise in two years. He had modified his office to meet the needs
of the additional work. One of the best things Mr. Logan had done was being part of
Springfield leading the way for law enforcement, the jail and the police department. Mr.
Logan had been very loyal to the City and would likely be open to work with the City in any
way he could in order to maintain the relationship. On behalf of himself and others he worked
with, Mr. Lewis said they would like to see that maintained to keep things running well.
6. Scott Akins, Springfield, OR. Mr. Akins served as the Springfield Police Association (SPA)
President and was here representing that organization. Originally he had come to sing the
praises of Dave Logan, but then he read the proposal from the City Manager. He felt the
procedures proposed would not work. Besides the fact that the City Prosecutor's office would
only be staffed by an attorney on a half -time basis, there were other major issues. Most of
them would require more man hours and money from the Police Department, the same Police
Department Council was asking citizens to pass a levy for in November to keep staffing. He
spoke regarding plea bargaining agreements prior to arraignments, an area Leahy, VanVactor,
Cox and Melendy claimed they could save the City money by paying less in attorney fees.
Springfield Municipal Court used video arraignment, making arraignments by video from the
jail. If the City Prosecutor wanted to arrange plea agreements with the inmate, they would
need to meet with them in the jail prior to the arraignment. This would require more
movement of inmates, costing more for security for the prosecutor. Female inmates were
transported to the police department at 12:30pm and arraignments were at 1:00pm. This would
put more pressure on police staff to move people around so the prosecutor could work on a
plea agreement in a half hour time. This was assuming the Municipal Judge would accept a
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July 2, 2012
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plea bargain from an unrepresented inmate and historically they had not. Most of the inmates
suffered from substance abuse and/or mental health issues and all had a history of making bad
decisions. According to this proposal, these were the people the City Prosecutor would prey
upon to accept a plea agreement before they had any legal representation. Therefore, the City
would save money by not paying the defense attorney fees. The fallout from this could cause a
mountain of judicial backlog and legal expenses to the City. Whether they agreed with the
criminal justice system or not, it was the system that they had to abide by. The City was
starting down a slippery slope if the prosecutor focused on plea arrangements with
unrepresented inmates. He feared that the City Administration was starting down the path of
becoming like Lane County East. They had been told this was a cost cutting move. When he
asked City staff when the City Attorney services had last been put out to bid he was told they
didn't know or never. Ironically, this was the same firm that was being suggested to take over
the City Prosecutor services. The City claimed that creating jobs was a top priority, but if the
City retained the firm recommended by the City Manager, five people would lose their jobs
for an experiment.
7. Ashley Wiese, Criminal Defense Attorney, Springfield, OR. Ms. Wiese said it was unusual
that she would be speaking on the same side as a federal prosecutor and the Springfield police
department. She was, however, here to speak as a court appointed defense attorney in
Springfield about her experiences with Dave Logan and how this system was run. Ms. Wiese
took criminal court appointment in Junction City, Cottage Grove and Springfield courts and
also practiced in other parts of the state. She was certified by Office of Public Defense
Services (OPDS) to handle major felonies and below. Since taking appointments in
Springfield in September 2011, she had opened and closed 150 cases. Currently, she had 20
cases open. Of the 170 cases in Springfield, not one of those cases had gone to trial because of
Dave Logan. Mr. Logan made appropriate offers of resolution and quickly and efficiently
handled cases whether the defendant was in custody or out of custody. Mr. Logan did not use
email, but made personal contact regarding every offer. With 170 cases in 10 months, Ms.
Wiese had spoken to him about all of them. Part of this contract was to reduce defense costs.
The only way a prosecutor could guarantee defense costs would be reduced would be if that
prosecutor agreed to not prosecute a certain class of crimes. Judges could not comment on
how they might rule in a certain situation, but the judges at the Springfield Municipal Court
rarely took an uncounseled plea to a diversion, which in Lane County was done within 30 days
.without the advice of counsel. Diversions to a DUII if taken with uncounseled pleas could
come back and be run again. While they might be reducing defense costs in the beginning by
not appointing attorneys for defendants, in the end there could be more trials. She got paid $75
a case, as did all defense attorneys. The reason they worked for this small amount of money
was because Mr. Logan made it efficient and the Court made it efficient for them to do so. If
she had to take cases to trial, her rate went up to $150 a charge.
8. Edmund Spinney, Criminal Defense Attorney, Eugene, OR. Mr. Spinney said he served as a
criminal defense attorney for Springfield. He learned about this hearing from the Springfield
Police Department. It was rare for this group to come in support of someone in that position.
All those that were here tonight were unanimous in their support of Mr. Logan in his position.
Mr. Spinney said he reviewed the proposal from Leahy, VanVactor, Cox and Melendy to see
how they were planning to cut $60,000 from the prosecutor's budget. When he finished
reviewing the proposal, he had six pages of notes. He was not against Mr. Cox and Mr.
Melendy; both were good attorneys and would do a fine job as City Prosecutor. He understood
the purpose of the RFQ was so the City Manager could select the most qualified candidate and
negotiate with that person the cost of the contract. It appeared that instead of choosing the
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July 2, 2012
Page 6
negotiate with that person the cost of the contract. It appeared that instead of choosing the
most qualified candidate, the person was chosen by under cutting the current cost of the City
Prosecutor. He believed that in a few years, the new firm would be asking for more staff and
more funds. None of candidates could be considered more qualified than Mr. Logan. He had
worked with Mr. Logan since 1984, and no one could do a better job than Mr. Logan. After
going through the proposals, it appeared that they (Leahy, VanVactor, Cox and Melendy)
would be asking the defense attorneys to do more for the same amount of money. Most
defense attorneys worked for the smaller amount of money because they were working with
Mr. Logan. If the City moved forward with the recommendation, Mr. Spinney said he would
no longer be able afford to work for the City.
9. Vincent Mulier, Court Appointed Defense Attorney, Eugene, OR Mr. Mulier said most of his
work was in Springfield through the Municipal Court for the last four years. He had opened
and closed at least several hundred cases. He spoke regarding the cost savings that were being
cited for this change. The proposed change was a radical departure from the current system.
He did not believe that on the whole it would save the City money. It could save some money
for the cost of prosecution, but on the whole those cost.savings would be made up for in other
ways, and could possibly cost more in the long run. He said this was a matter of principal as
well, which many of the comments pointed to. He believed Mr. Logan should be retained as a
matter of principal, not a matter of cost savings, although he believed the cost savings
arguments were in favor of Mr. Logan. As many of the speakers pointed out, Mr. Logan was
extremely efficient and was solely responsible for the low percentage of cases going to trial.
Mr. Mulier said he had never received an unfair offer from Mr. Logan. There were times when
a defendant wanted their day in court even when a fair offer had been presented to them. On
the whole, he found Mr. Logan was man of principal and could be relied upon to do the
research and listen to Mr. Mulier. That went towards costs savings in the long run and quality
of life that Springfield enjoyed by having a man of such high character and principal as City
Prosecutor. The current prosecutor should be retained to maintain that character and quality of
the criminal justice system in Springfield. Mr. Mulier said he had experience in other
municipal court systems in Florence, Salem and others. He found the system in Springfield
was the most efficient and cost effective.
10. Leslie Wolf, Court Appointed Attorney for Springfield Eugene OR Ms. Wolf said most of
the issues had been addressed by others giving testimony. It was important from a criminal
defense attorney perspective in situations where offers were made to defendants prior to
getting a court appointed counsel. Crimes couldn't be considered in isolation. Many people
were willing to do anything to get out of jail, including plead guilty to a crime, but everything
was very complex. There were felony sentencing guidelines and certain convictions were
taken into account. There were huge consequences with immigration and who would advise
illegals, number of convictions of public indecency, and. mental health. Many times there were
cases where the defendants didn't have the culpable mental state to have committed a crime,
but with a deal they were released and put on probation in order to get out of jail. She knew
Mr. Melendy from Cottage Grove and said he was a great guy, but that was the system they
had in Cottage Grove. She sometimes had to walk out of the courtroom when she saw people
pleading guilty and accepting offers and not knowing what they were doing. Those kinds of
consequences were extreme and she felt having that type of system would violate the standard
of justice that now existed in Springfield.
11. Jesse Lohrke, Court Appointed Attorney, Eugene OR. Mr. Lohrke pointed out how much
Springfield residents got for $75/hour for defense attorney. There were criminal defendants,
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July 2, 2012
Page 7
but also mother and fathers going through crisis through the criminal justice system. He and
other defense attorneys spent a lot of time with those people and helping them get through
their difficult time. Some people didn't need that support, but others did and the proposed
system would get rid of that altogether.
COUNCIL RESPONSE
CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS
11
ORDINANCES
1. An Ordinance Establishing Criminal History Record Check Policies.
ORDINANCE NO. 1 — AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD
CHECK POLICIES CONCERNING APPLICANTS FOR EMPLOYMENT APPOINTED
VOLUNTEERS, CONTRACTORS AND THOSE EMPLOYED BY CONTRACTORS WITH
THE CITY, AND VOLUNTEERS OF NON - PROFIT YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS, AND
VOLUNTEERS WITH NON - PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS PROVIDING PROGRAMS FOR
YOUTH, OPERATING WITHIN THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD (FIRST READING).
Human Resources Director Greta Utecht presented the staff report on this item. Currently the
Springfield Police Department could only perform criminal background checks on employees who had
direct access to law enforcement data bases and systems. It was in the City's best interest both
financially and for efficiency of time to have the City Police Department complete criminal and
driving history record checks for finalists for positions in all departments at the City, volunteers,
contractors and employees of contractors with the City, volunteers working with non - profit youth
organizations, and volunteers with organizations providing programs for youth, operating within the
City. In order to accomplish this, the Council must adopt an Ordinance directing the Police
Department to do this in accordance with Oregon State statutes and administrative rules.
Without an Ordinance in.place that allowed the City's Police Department to perform criminal
background checks for all prospective employees, volunteers and contractors, Human Resources staff
must request the information from the Oregon State Police, and wait up to two weeks for response. In
addition, information from such a request may not provide sufficient detail to determine if the
applicant is appropriate to hire. For example, the Oregon State Police would not provide information
regarding the arrest record of an individual; instead they would only indicate if he or she was
convicted of a misdemeanor or felony.
Due to the delay and the lack of specific information, the City may not be hiring the best candidate
from each pool. The delay extended the City's selection process timeline and could force top
candidates to take other positions, and lack of information could mean that a candidate has a pattern of
behavior that was not appropriate for a public employee position.
Councilor Ralston asked about the reference to non - profit organizations. He asked if that included
groups such as Little League needing a background check on a Coach and if it was faster going
through our Police Department. That was correct.
Councilor Pishioneri asked if there was a cost associated with the background check
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Council Regular Meeting Minutes
July 2, 2012
Page 8
Ms. Utecht said the cost was about $10.
Councilor Pishioneri asked if Police would charge a like fee.
Ms. Utecht said they hadn't discussed that yet. They had talked with the Police Department in terms of
the process Human Resources would use. This was in the event youth organizations were volunteering
or working for the City. They could set up a fee structure if that was the intent. At this point there
hadn't been any request for those types of records.
Councilor Pishioneri said he was comfortable with checks on those that worked with the City, but felt
others should be separate.
Ms. Utecht said the language was taken from the. statute. When the ordinance was drafted that
language was retained in the event the City wanted to do those background checks in the future.
Mr. Grimaldi said it sounded like Councilor Pishioneri was not ready to make that move. If the City
wanted to open it up for outside agencies, staff could bring that back to Council in the future.
Councilor Pishioneri said he was comfortable if we kept it internal, but there needed to be a clear
policy if they went to outside agencies.
Mayor Lundberg asked if staff could make those adjustments for the second reading. Yes.
NO ACTION REQUESTED. FIRST READING ONLY.
BUSINESS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL
1. Committee Appointments
2. Business from Council
a. Committee Reports
1. Mayor Lundberg said they all attended the Olympic Trials at some point. It was a
spectacular event.
2. Councilor Pishioneri said he attended the Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) meeting
last week. George Kloeppel, after 30+ years, stepped down as Executive Director and
Brenda Wilson from the City of Eugene had been appointed to the position. He had
worked with Ms. Wilson for several years and he felt her appointment would be a great
thing for the City of Springfield. He expected they would see projects from LCOG that
would be very good for Springfield.
b. Other Business
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July 2, 2012
Page 9
BUSINESS FROM THE CITY MANAGER
1. Municipal Court Prosecutor Services to the City of Springfield.
Assistant City Manager Jeff Towery presented the staff report on this item. The testimony heard
tonight made it clear that Mr. Logan was well regarded, liked and respected and that he had provided
good service and been an ambassador of the City. Everyone who had been involved with this process
agreed with that assessment. He was held in high regard and had long relationships and friendships in
this organization and that was to be acknowledged.
At Council direction, staff proceeded with an RFQ process for City Prosecutor. The RFQ process was
related to emerging technology, efficiency within the judicial system, streamlining process costs; a
number of external factors including the impact on defendants from charged case resolution and the
ability to accommodate the impacts of the opening of the Municipal Jail. Three responses were
received: one from David Logan, one from the Lane County District Attorney's office and one from
Leahy, VanVactor, Cox and Melendy. A panel made up of the City Manager, Mr. Towery, the Police
Chief, the presiding Judge, the Municipal Court manager, Finance Director and Purchasing Manager
reviewed the applications. Following that review, it was determined to interview Dave Logan and
Leahy, VanVactor, Cox and Melendy. Through the interview process, a number of the issues spoken
of tonight were raised. Many of those issues had been answered to staff's satisfaction and others were
worthy of further consideration and would be subject to contract negotiation, although that did not
change the recommendation from staff.
He referenced the work session held earlier in the evening and noted some of that discussion. The
response from Mr. Logan would provide a status quo process for the Municipal Court. The process
identified by Leahy, VanVactor, Cox and Melendy made it clear that they believed there were ,
improvements that could be made as well as the additional attorneys that could manage court time
without interruption. Staffs recommendation was rooted on a number of issues. With the changing
municipal landscape and the lack of sustained economic recovery, the organization had faced budget
impacts over the last several years. The City organization had eliminated 53 positions over the last
three years with every department impacted. There was a need for additional automation and use of
emerging technology to make sure there was a seamless link in the justice system and costs were
certainly an issue. Staff's recommendation was that Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate a
contract with the firm of Leahy, VanVactor, Cox and Melendy and grant an extension of the current
agreement with David Logan for a six month period to allow for the negotiation and transition.
Councilor Woodrow said she understood and appreciated the testimony that had been given tonight.
She appreciated what was said about reputation, how it stood up to creating plea bargaining and
resolutions. It was important to bring forth considerations in regards to arraignments and plea
bargaining. She has civic but not criminal background in negotiations, but understood the importance
of being able to recognize what was being presented. She had heard from Mr. Lewis and others how
important that loyalty and the status of Mr. Logan were to them. She was not ready to vote on this and
would ask that it be brought back to the Judiciary Committee for further evaluation in terms of the
economic issues and quality.
Councilor Moore said she agreed with Councilor Woodrow. It was difficult to hear testimony and
disregard it. She agreed they needed to extend Mr. Logan's contract and asked if that could be done
separately from the other contract. She would like to hear more from Mr. Logan's application.
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July 2, 2012
Page 10
Councilor VanGordon agreed. He would like to take more time on this regarding quality and
representation.
Councilor Ralston said it was a matter of principal. Cost savings was important to him, but so was
loyalty. There were some questions in his mind about whether or not there would be the cost savings
proposed. He was not prepared to vote on this tonight and would like to hear more about the quality
and cost savings.
Mayor Lundberg said it was a testament to the quality of the legal profession. They had presented a
case for Council to reconsider. She asked if a formal action was needed.
No formal action was needed.
Councilor Pishioneri said he had known Mr. Logan for many years and dealt with him on many
occasions through the courts and also on a personal level. He agreed with everyone that spoke. Mr.
Logan had a long history in the area and was well respected. He concurred with the officers and was
part of the family of professionals. There was closeness, companionship and complete trust. That was
not what was at question tonight. He held the other firm (Leahy, VanVactor, Cox and Melendy) that
had responded in equally high regard. They were professional and he believed they could do the job as
well. He felt both Mr. Logan and Leahy, VanVactor, Cox and Melendy had a responsibility to respond
to the RFQ and answer the questions. He was willing to accept responsibility as Chair of the Judiciary
Committee for the outcome of their initial meeting. He felt they had a fiduciary responsibility and
shouldn't be asked to change that based on friendship. He respected Mr. Logan and those that spoke.
The Judiciary Committee would look at it again and move it forward. If there was an opportunity for
Mr. Logan to respond to the inquiry, he would highly recommend his responses were very detailed.
The decision would be based on those responses. The recommendation was based on the responses on
hand. If they took action on the responses on hand, he would make a motion to accept Leahy,
VanVactor, Cox and Melendy.
Mr. Towery said the first action to amend the current agreement with Dave Logan for prosecutorial
services through December 31, 2012 just extended the current agreement already in place with Mr.
Logan. It was at Council's discretion whether or not to take that action. If Council did not take that
action, the City would continue to work under the standards of the existing contract. Taking action on
Mr. Logan's contract amendment would not bind Council to any subsequent decisions on who would
provide the services for the balance of the fiscal year in the future. If Council was not comfortable
with making a motion to negotiate a contract with Leahy, VanVactor, Cox and Melendy, he would
recommend they wait and get their questions addressed.
Councilor Ralston asked about budget costs if they took no action.
Mr. Towery said if they took no action on the extension of the contract, Mr. Logan would be working
without a contract until Council took action. Staff would recommend Council authorize extension of
the contract with Mr. Logan and allow the issue of future services to be brought back to the Judiciary
Committee and then the Council when they were comfortable to make that decision.
Mayor Lundberg asked if the Judiciary Committee would be using the RFQ's that had previously been
submitted, or if there would be other information requested. They had all of the information they
needed to make a clear cut choice, but there were other things that couldn't be put in writing to take
into consideration now. She asked how they should proceed in such a way that the Judiciary
Committee could come back with a recommendation the full Council would be comfortable with.
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July 2, 2012
Page 11
Mr. Grimaldi said his recommendation would be for the Finance /Judiciary Committee to meet with
both Mr. Logan and Leahy, VanVactor, Cox and Melendy in interviews and talk about the proposals.
They would use the existing proposals.
Mayor Lundberg asked about the timeline for review.
Mr. Grimaldi said it was important for everyone involved to bring this to resolution as soon as
possible. He hoped the Finance /Judiciary Committee could meet before recess and try to wrap it up if
possible. Although that may be difficult with. people's schedules, it could be a goal.
Councilor Pishioneri asked about timeline for notification for the Finance /Judiciary Committee.
Mr. Grimaldi said it would be noticed as a public meeting with 24 hours notice.
IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR PISHIONERI WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR
RALSTON TO EXTEND THE CURRENT AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY PROSECUTOR
TO DECEMBER 31, 2012. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 5 FOR AND 0
AGAINST (1 ABSENT — WYLIE).
BUSINESS FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned 7:54 p.m.
Minutes Recorder Amy Sowa
Christine L. Lundberg
Mayor
Attest:
MA"a.6o,