12-14-2015 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, December 14, 2015 6:30 o'clock p.m. APPROVAL OF AGENDA (continued) Walsh stated this is a philosophical issue, and that if there is an existing issue where the property owner has been notified, the City needs to decide whether they are going to pursue that. Walsh stated in his view the Council should be able to explain their rationale for how they vote and that a vote should be taken during the Council meeting. Council Member Levang stated she is not in favor of that type of hearing since it is an issue that is in litigation and the City Council is protected by attorney-client privilege. Levang stated she would like to keep it as attorney-client privilege. Council Member Cornick asked what the rules are for when an item is in closed session and whether the City Council will be violating any rules by having an open vote. Mattick stated the open meeting law allows the Council to have a closed session under the attorney-client privilege regarding certain topics, including whether the City Council is contemplating future litigation. Mattick stated the reason behind that is that there are strategies and discussions that the City may not necessarily want the other party to know, which is the reason for the exception to the open meeting law exists. Mattick stated to the extent the Council does want to discuss this, he would ask that it be left at the philosophical level and not talk about the strengths and weaknesses of the case. Walsh stated he would be in favor of that and that it would simply be an up or down vote on whether the City wants to pursue litigation. Council Member Printup asked Council Member Walsh if he would be amenable to having it as an actual printed item on the next agenda. Walsh indicated he would be. Printup stated he would also be open to that and that he would like to have it as part of the Council's published agenda. McMillan asked if Council Member Walsh is thinking that all the City's code violations should be included. Walsh stated it would relate to the open items that were discussed during the closed session. McMillan stated in the past Staff has notified the City Council of what violations are open in the City and have provided updates. McMillan stated if the City Council wants to go down this path, she would like to see all the violations listed and not have it limited to one property owner. McMillan noted Staff does 99 percent of the work on code violations and the City Council only deals with them when it goes into litigation. Page 2 of 44