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SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING, AUGUST 10, 2012
CALL TO ORDER
The Special Council Meeting of August 10, 2012, was convened at 3:05 P.M. by Mayor
Eric Struemph.
ROLL CALL
The following Council Members were present for the roll call:
Present: Bray, Carroll, Henry, Luebbert, Mihalevich, Pope, Prather, Schulte,
Scrivner, and Weber
Absent: None
A quorum was declared present.
PRESENTATION BY CITY COUNSELOR
City Counselor Drew Hilpert made a presentation regarding the issue of the email sent
to City staff by City Administrator Nathan Nickolaus on the evening of Friday, August 3.
He provided his legal opinion regarding the issue and explained that he had met with
the Missouri Ethics Commission at Mayor Struemph's request following a suggestion to
do so by Councilwoman Carrie Carroll. He indicated that the Ethics Commission does
not act on any issues without a formal complaint having first been filed with their office,
and stated there had not been such a complaint filed.
Following his presentation, Mr. Hilpert answered questions. He also stated, when asked
by the Council, that it was the Council's prerogative to go into Closed Session after the
public portion of this meeting.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
The following persons came forward to speak on the issue:
Paul Van Horn
Charles Gaskin
Ed Bothe
Michael Moyer
Gabrielle Peton
Cindy Lambert
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SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING, AUGUST 10, 2012
Robert Wise
Lonnie Brandt
Bill Spencer
Melissa Manda
Kathy Gander
John Orear
Josh Harmon
Glover Brown
Mayor Struemph thanked all those who came forward to voice their opinions on the
issue.
GO INTO CLOSED SESSION
Councilman Ralph Bray made a motion that, pursuant to Sec. 610.021 of the Revised
Statutes of Missouri, the Council go into Closed Session to discuss the issue of
Personnel, [Sec. 610.021(3)], seconded by Councilman Bob Weber.
Following a lengthy discussion, Councilman Bob Weber called the question, seconded
by Councilman Rick Prather, and approved by the following roll -call vote:
Aye: Bray, Carroll, Mihalevich, Prather, Schulte, Scrivner, and Weber
Nay: Henry, Luebbert, and Pope
The original motion to go into Closed Session was then defeated by the following roll -
call vote:
Aye: Bray, Luebbert, Schulte, and Weber
Nay: Carroll, Henry, Mihalevich, Pope, Prather, and Scrivner
COUNCIL ACTIONS IN OPEN SESSION
Following a lengthy discussion by Council Members, Councilman Bryan Pope read a
prepared statement regarding comments made by him to the media in the past week
which he regrets having made. He stated his wish to move forward and work for the
common good of the City, his constituents, and his fellow Council Members. At the
conclusion of his statement, Councilman Pope made a motion as follows:
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SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING, AUGUST 10, 2012
"I move for the Council to take a vote of confidence regarding the City
Administrator as follows:
`We the members of the City Council of the City of Jefferson state that we
have confidence in the administration of Nathan Nickolaus.' "
Mayor Struemph asked if City Administrator Nathan Nickolaus had any comments to
make at this point. Mr. Nickolaus read a prepared statement in which he thanked people
who have supported him in the past week, and stated (excerpted) as follows:
"As I have repeatedly said my actions broke no law, nor were they unethical. I did
not contradict any policy of the Council. Most importantly, my statements were
truthful and intended to further the best interests of the City as I understand those
interests. Nevertheless, had I known the reaction my email would cause, justified
or not, I would never have sent it. The controversy of the last week has distracted
the focus of City government. For that I am sorry."
Following a lengthy discussion, Councilman Rick Mihalevich called the question,
seconded by Councilman Bob Weber, and approved unanimously by the following roll -
call vote:
Aye: Bray, Carroll, Henry, Luebbert, Mihalevich, Pope, Prather, Schulte,
Scrivner, and Weber
Nay: None
The original motion was then approved by the following roll -call vote:
Aye: Bray, Henry, Luebbert, Mihalevich, Prather, Schulte, Scrivner, and Weber
Nay: Carroll and Pope
ADJOURNMENT
A motion to adjourn was made by Councilman Bob Weber, seconded by Councilman
Shawn Schulte, and approved unanimously at 4:40 P.M.