Minutes - Council - 08/14/2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

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states that if a complaint is withdrawn the County Attorney does not need to go forward with the Grand Jury. City Attorney Goodrich recommended the Council refer the claim to the League of Minnesota Insurance Trust Motion by Mayor Gamec, seconded by Councilmember Anderson, to refer the claim for Attorney's fees by Councilmember Pattiann Kurak to the League of Minnesota Insurance Trust. Further discussion: Councilmember Anderson stated that the most unfortunate thing is a public policy question. She understands that it is practice for everyone to pay their own legal bills, but as the City goes forward with having a seven-member Council, the prospect of having a $3,500 legal bill is a scary fact on future candidates. Alena Hunter, 14628 Helium Street NW, Ramsey, stated that she has thought about the incident long and hard and as a citizen of Ramsey she is disgusted that one person can have a grave impact on the political process. The lawsuit will cost the City thousands of dollars in legal fees and now the election process has been permanently tainted. Decent citizens who want nothing more than to be part of the City will have to be in fear of having thousands of dollars in legal fees over ridiculous acquisitions. The fact that the lawsuit was initiated by a Councilmember is even worse. She stated that the fact that residents have to be afraid of other Councilmembers because of their political views is incomprehensive. Councilmembers have an obligation to be respectful to each other, City staff and residents. Councilmember Hendriksen stated that before he took any action he brought the questionable piece of information to a Council meeting and asked if the statements made in the material were true and he was told they were not. He stated that he felt he acted responsibly in every aspect including reporting the allegations to the proper authorities. Tom Kurak, 15001 Sunfish Lake Boulevard NW, Ramsey, stated that a lot of people know what a hot seat the microphone is to address the powerful body of the Council. To win an election and then have to face criminal allegations is even worse. He personally was charged with a felony, but was lucky that he had a video on him the entire time. To run for public office or be involved in a campaign to know you might have to serve jail time is not fight. Mr. Hendriksen stated that it was appropriate for him to bring a claim against his wife, but Mr. Kurak watched the videotape of the Council meeting Mr. Hendriksen referred to and the City Attorney correctly answered the questions. The City Attorney stated the history, but did not say if the campaign material was correct or not. His wife said in a few brochures that the storm sewer fee was implemented without a public hearing, which it was. According to the City Charter, the Council has to conduct a public hearing before the Council votes on it. He requested that the Council consider resolving the matter so that they do not have to sue the City. He noted that he was willing to show Mr. Hendriksen the videotape proving that his allegations were false, but Mr. Hendriksen refused. Mayor Gamec replied that the Council needs to get an opinion from the insurance company before any decision is made. Being an elected official you have to watch what you say and what you do. If a person does something that is illegal, then they should be held responsible. He stated he personally felt that the lawsuit was frivolous and it is time for the City to get back to business. City Council/August 14, 2001 Page 5 of 13