HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-01-2022 CC Special Meeting MinutesSPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING
City Hall —Council Chambers, 590 40th Ave NE
Monday, August 01, 2022
5:30 PM
MINUTES
Mayor
Amado Mdrquez Simulo
Councilmembers
John Murzyn, Jr.
Connie Buesgens
Nick Novitsky
KtJocobs
City Manager
Kelli Bourgeois
The following are the minutes for the Special Meeting of the City Council held at 5:30 pm on Monday,
August 1, 2022, in the City Council Chambers, City Hall, 590 40t" Avenue NE, Columbia Heights,
Minnesota.
CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL
Mayor Marquez Simula called the meeting to order at 5:30 pm.
Present: Mayor Marquez Simula; Councilmember Buesgens; Councilmember Jacobs; Councilmember
Murzyn, Jr.; Councilmember Novitsky
Also Present: Bourgeois, City Manager; Jim Hoeft, City Attorney; Sara Ion, City Clerk; Scott Lepak,
Assistant City Attorney
ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION
1. City Council Consideration of Ordering an Investigation into Allegations Against Council
Member Raised at the July 25, 2022 Open Forum.
City Manager Bourgeois stated that this is a Special City Council Meeting for the City
Council to decide how to move forward with the concerns brought forward at the July 25,
2022 City Council meeting. She stated that this is an open meeting, with members of the
public attending but not a public hearing. She introduced Assistant City Attorney Scott
Lepak as she has asked him to assist with the procedural concerns moving forward.
Attorney Lepak introduced himself and stated that staff is looking for direction on next
steps and for how to proceed with this concern. Currently for review the Council has the
statement from the Citizen at the July 251" open forum, the statement from the
Councilmember and the memo that he has compiled. All of this information becomes a
part of the record. As proposed in his memo the next steps are: Option one is to take no
further action, Option two is that Council feels that there is enough to proceed with acting
on the information that has been gathered to date related to a code of conduct violation,
Option three is to investigate the issue further.
Mayor Marquez Simula asked if any councilmembers had questions.
Councilmember Buesgens asked if all parties would be personally interviewed as part of
the investigation.
Attorney Lepak stated that all parties would be invited to be personally interviewed.
City of Columbia Heights MINUTES August 01, 2022
Special City Council Meeting Page 2
Councilmember Novitsky asked if the interviews would be voluntary.
Attorney Lepak stated that this is not a criminal or civil matter, and the interviews would
not be mandatory, and the interviews are done on request. A negative inference can be
made when an interview is denied.
Councilmember Buesgens stated that the community still has a lot of questions, and she
still does as well. She would like to take a vote on an investigation.
Councilmember Murzyn stated that he thought it would be a good idea to go with option
three. There would be transparency for citizens and council. He agrees with
Councilmember Buesgens on going with an investigation.
Councilmember Novitsky stated that transparency is key in what we do for our residents.
We should go forward with an investigation for transparency and to give peace of mind.
Mayor Marquez Simula stated that settling for less than an investigation would be a
disservice to our community and the people involved.
Motion by Councilmember Buesgens seconded by Councilmember Murzyn Jr. to authorize and
direct the City Manager to engage an outside investigator to be selected in consultation with
the City Attorney, to investigate and determine if the allegations raised at the July 25, 2022
open forum and related actions thereafter violate the City Council Code of Conduct or
reasonable expectations of conduct by a Columbia Heights City Council member. All Ayes, with
Councilmember Jacobs abstaining. Motion carried 4-0.
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Meeting adjourned at 5:45 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Sara Ion, City Clerk/Council Secretary