07-11-2016 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, July 11, 2016 7:00 o'clock p.m. 20. PROSECUTING ATTORNEY — REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) (continued) Levang stated whether Mr. Potts retires or not is up to him and that she will not hold him to that. Levang stated what makes a difference is that he has done well for Orono and its partner cities. Levang noted the Orono Police Department feels they have a very good relationship with him and that she is not going to hold him to a short leash. Levang stated Mr. Potts will be dealing with the police department and the city manager and that the City Council should not be micromanaging. Levang stated if the Council wants, Mr. Potts could report to the Council once a year. Printup asked what the length of the contract is currently. Loftus indicated it is a 3 -year contract. Printup stated he was surprised to hear that prosecuting attorneys typically do not report to the Council. Printup stated knowing what the tentative outlook is for this individual, he would error on the side of transitioning to a new prosecutor. Walsh stated from day one when they discussed going out for RPFs on the city prosecutor, he has wanted to have the termination clause included in the contract. Walsh noted Staff said that they liked the former city engineer but the City still changed engineering firms. Walsh stated the City Council made that decision and not Staff and that the vendors work for the Council and not Staff. Walsh stated in his view the 30 -day termination clause is important regardless of who it is. McMillan stated dealing with a prosecuting attorney and a consulting engineer is very different and that it is not comparing apples to apples. McMillan stated the -prosecuting attorney has a whole different relationship with the City Council. 'McMillan noted when the City changed engineers, they had not done an RFP for approximately 20 to 25 years, and that as a Council they do not deal much with the prosecuting attorney. Walsh stated he deals with lots of different attorneys and engineers all the time but they are still vendors that are providing a service. McMillan stated in her view a city attorney is different from a prosecuting attorney as well. Cornick amended the motion, Levang seconded, to select Kenneth Potts as Orono's prosecuting attorney and to direct Staff and the City Attorney to begin negotiating a minimum of a 3 -year contract, with a 5 -year contract being preferred. Printup asked about the 30 -day notice. Loftus stated Council ?Member Walsh would like to make sure that there is a termination clause that allows the City some flexibility to terminate the relationship. Loftus stated that is something that Staff is working into most of the City contracts and that they will pay special attention to it with this contract. Loftus noted the new contract will be before the City Council sometime in the fall. Page 23 of 25