By Pauline Masson –
An intense ten-minute verbal clash between Mayor Heather Filley and Alderman Scott Lesh at the opening of the Nov. 5 board of aldermen (BOA) set the stage for arguably the most dysfunctional meeting in Pacific history. And veteran meeting observers know that is saying something.
The only item on the special meeting agenda was the city budget.
Mr. Lesh wanted to amend the agenda to discuss the upcoming board of adjustment meeting, which he wanted to cancel – or reschedule. The mayor said it was not appropriate to amend the agenda of a special meeting.
Alderman Debbie Kelley was the first to hint at the trouble to come. She said it was illegal for the BOA to involve itself in board of adjustment actions.
Following a heated argument between the mayor and alderman about a series of emails between Mr. Lesh, the mayor and city attorney about cancelling the board of adjustment meeting, in a 3-1 vote Mr. Lesh gained the support of Aldermen Anna Meadows and Karla Stewart to amend the agenda. Alderman Cleeve voted no. Rafael Madrigal was absent.
“If you persist in this I’m going to leave this meeting,” Mayor Filley said. “I’m not going to participate in an illegal meeting,” Following the successful vote, she stood and left the podium and board room.
The unprecedented departure of the mayor – left Mr. Lesh, who is the acting president of the board, to chair the meeting – and offered a one-hour display of the inactivity now gripping City Hall.
Presently the city is without a city administrator after the two previous city administrators ran afoul of some aldermen.
Failing to attract a candidate that the BOA is willing to approve, aldermen are now considering hiring two individuals at the top of city government, a new city administrator and a financial officer to assist the new manager and take some of the work load off the city clerk.
After the mayor left Tuesday’s meeting, Ms. Kelley attempted to discuss the budget, but Mr. Lesh said due to the emergency regarding the board of adjustment meeting scheduled for the following day he wanted to pursue the issue.
“So you want to just discuss what you want to discuss,” Ms. Kelley said as she stood. “I’m ashamed of all of you,” she added and stepped down from the podium, leaving a four-member quorum, Aldermen Meadows, Stewart, Cleeve and Mr. Lesh.
Mr. Lesh said the topic he wanted to discuss in lieu of the budget was time critical.
“There is a board of adjustment meeting scheduled for tomorrow night,” he said. “They are considering a variation and a boundary adjustment.”
He then referred to his emails with the mayor and city attorney in which, he said, the city attorney had offered two conflicting opinions on the matter.
The item that Mr. Lesh did not want the board of adjustment to rule on was an application from property owner Joe Gildehaus for a variance on the street frontage of his lots on South Third Street, where he plans to construct a duplex.
Mr. Lesh said the public notice for the meeting indicated that Mr. Gildehaus was seeking a boundary adjustment on the property, which was outside the authority of the board of adjstment.
Mr. Gildehaus came to the speaker podium. He said he had only asked for a variance of the street frontage of the property from the required 100 feet to the 84 feet on the property.
“I only applied for a variance on the street frontage,” he said.
Mr. Lesh said he wasn’t trying to do anything about the hearing, he just wanted to reschedule the meeting to allow time for aldermen to question Attorney Jones on his opinions on this matter, “and we (the aldermen) can weigh in on what needs to be properly done.”
Former building commissioner Dave Myers, who was in the audience, stepped forward to address the issue. His comments presented a tutorial of sorts on the the duties and responsibilities of the BOA and the board of adjustment.
He pointed out that the board of adjustment is a quasi judicial body, completely outside the scope of BOA authorty.
“You have no authority over the board of adjustment other than to appoint members,” he said. “What ever they decide, you can’t change that.”
“But isn’t it the board (of aldermen)’s respossiblity before it gets to the board of adjustment,”Ms. Stewart asked.
Mr. Myers said there was nothing the board of aldermen could do about what the board of adjustment does.
“That makes it even more important to make sure that what ever happens is right,” Ms. Stewart added.
The exchange only strengthened Mr. Lesh’s concern.
“What are we to do when we know something is being improperly put before a committee,” he said. “If a topic is going before the park board when it should go before planning and zoning, should the BOA stand by and let that go?”
Mr. Myers said the board of adjustment was completely different from other boards and committees and by addressing it, aldermen were acting outside its scope of their authority.
Mr. Lesh was not deterred, he said there were problems at City Hall and he was looking into how it was happening.
“This has happened again and again” he said. “And we had to make an example.”
After an hour, Mr.Lesh turned to City Clerk Kim Barfield, asking her to comment.
“If you are there taking the minutes and the board of adjustment makes a ruling it shouldn’t, what would you do,” he asked.
“The clerk’s task is to take the minutes. It is not the clerk’s position to say whether it is legal or not,” Miss Barfield said.
The meeting adjourned after an hour and nine minutes. No official action was taken.
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In the view of this reporter, the heart of the matter in this muddle lies in Mr. Lesh’s belief that the board of aldermen is responsible to make sure that everything in city government is done according to city ordinances.
I do not doubt his sincerity or his motives. But nothing in city ordinances or state statutes puts the board of aldermen in charge of city departments, or citizen committees, boards and comissions.
Their responsibility is limited to creating ordinances and setting policies that guide the city departments and committees to do their job, and appointing members to the citizen bodies
The mayor is the chief elected official of the city. In the absence of a city administrator, the mayor is also the city administrator. The place to effect change is through communication with the mayor, not at a public BOA meeting that reveals the face of city government, as Winston Churchill once said, “warts and all.”
Hometown Matters attempted to view the emails that Mr. Lesh referenced but the city clerk said they were a closed matter. Mr. Lesh at first said he would share the emails but after contacting the city clerk did not share them.
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The board of adjustment did meet Nov. 6 and approved Mr. Gildehaus’s application for a street frontage variance.
“I will apply for a boundary adjustment later,” he said in a telephone interview. “And however they do it is okay. I just want to build my duplex.”
I am ashamed to see people who claim to be leaders acting like followers of anything they wish to create. Only a fool would accept the position of City Administrator. This Board wants the last say in “ everything”. If you want the last say “ who then is free to speak what they wish to say that you might listen” Certainly not the people who elected you!