City Council

1 CITY OF COLLEGE PARK 2 MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL 3 SPECIAL CALLED MEETING 4 SEPTEMBER 23, 2024 5 6 MINUTES 7 8 Present: Mayor Bianca Motley Broom; Councilwoman Jamelle McKenzie, Councilman Joe 9 Carn, Councilwoman Tracie Arnold (via Zoom – unable to vote) and Councilman 10 Roderick Gay; City Attorney Michael Huening; Interim City Clerk Emmie 11 Niethammer; Chief Information Officer Michael Hicks 12 13 Absent: None 14 15 MAYOR MOTLEY BROOM: Good morning. Welcome to the special called meeting of the 16 Mayor and City Council of the City of College Park. I’m Mayor Bianca Motley Broom. We have 17 a quorum present, with Council Members McKenzie, Carn, and Gay. It is 8:04 a.m. Council 18 Member Arnold is not present she said she would not be able. She is on Zoom. As a participant on 19 Zoom Council Member Arnold will not be able to vote. I believe that is correct Mr. Huening? 20 (Mr. Huening affirmed – off recording) 21 MAYOR MOTLEY BROOM: Right. And so that is actually very unfortunate considering the 22 magnitude of the decision we have to undertake this morning. And it is truly unfortunate this body 23 could not find a time for everyone to be here for a decision of this magnitude. I call the meeting to 24 order at 8:04 a.m. Is there a motion? 25 COUNCILMAN CARN: Motion 26 MAYOR MOTLEY BROOM: For what? 27 COUNCILMAN CARN: Executive session for personnel matter. 28 MAYOR MOTLEY BROOM: There is a motion to enter into executive session for personnel. 29 Thank you Council member Carn. Is there a second? 30 COUNCILWOMAN MCKENZIE: Second. 31 MAYOR MOTLEY BROOM: Thank you Council member McKenzie. Any discussion? Hearing 32 none, I move to a vote. All those in favor. 33 COUNCILWOMAN MCKENZIE: Aye. Special Called Meeting Page 1 of 6 09/23/2024 34 COUNCILMAN CARN: Aye. 35 COUNCILMAN GAY: Aye. 36 MAYOR MOTLEY BROOM: That is unanimous. We will enter into executive session at this 37 time. 38 (The Mayor, City Council, City Attorney Huening, and Michael Hicks went into executive 39 session at 8:04 a.m.) 40 (The Mayor, City Council, City Attorney Huening, and Michael Hicks returned at 8:45 a.m.) 41 MAYOR MOTLEY BROOM: It is 8:45 a.m. We are back with Council Members McKenzie, Carn, 42 and Gay. I will take a motion to exit from executive session at this time. 43 COUNCILWOMAN MCKENZIE: Moved. 44 MAYOR MOTLEY BROOM: Thank you Council Member McKenzie. Is there a second? 45 COUNCILMAN CARN: Second. 46 MAYOR MOTLEY BROOM: Thank you Council Member Carn. Any discussion? Hearing none 47 we will move to a vote. All those in favor. 48 COUNCILWOMAN MCKENZIE: Aye. 49 COUNCILMAN CARN: Aye. 50 COUNCILMAN GAY: Aye. 51 MAYOR MOTLEY BROOM: Thank you. That is unanimous. Any motions? 52 COUNCILMAN CARN: I make a motion that we hire Dr. Emmanual Adediran as City Manager 53 pending negotiating an agreeable contract. 54 MAYOR MOTLEY BROOM: Is there a second? 55 COUNCILWOMAN MCKENZIE: Second. 56 MAYOR MOTLEY BROOM: Thank you Council Member McKenzie. Is there any discussion? Special Called Meeting Page 2 of 6 09/23/2024 57 COUNCILWOMAN MCKENZIE: Yes, I have discussion. Actually - a statement. The selection of 58 a city manage is a decision that is not to be taken lightly. It cannot be politically based or 59 emotionally motivated. The city manger must be a logical, intellectual, unbiased professional with 60 strong morals and integrity. They must be able to make decisions and manage the heads of 61 departments, and staff, along with overseeing the day-to-day operations of our city. 62 Over a period of less than four years our city has gone through six managers – three permanent 63 and three interim. During this time, we have experienced issues in retaining and acquiring quality 64 and qualified staff due to the inconsistencies that come with the constant changing of management 65 and leadership. College Park has not been a destination that qualified persons in management can 66 run to cast their nets for many reasons such as negative press that has resulted from the exploitation 67 of false narratives and frivolous lawsuits and the illusions that elected officials are up to no good 68 and lack integrity and transparency. When this is the most transparent governance that I have 69 witnessed since I moved here eight years ago. 70 All that to say, I have studied and researched every candidate with openness and hope. I want what 71 is best and who is best to lead our city. I am greatly disappointed that the open records request to 72 have the names and resumes of our three top candidates has been used to weaponize members of 73 the public against Dr. Adediran in an attempt to further assassinate his character, his experience 74 and the extensive track record of positive impact that he has made during his eight-month interview 75 for the position of permanent city manager for the city of College Park. 76 Dr. Adediran is a strong intellectual African man. He has led our city through one of the most 77 difficult times we have ever experienced, a time of change and transition, a time of infighting 78 between the governing body and our community. Did he cause these issues? Not at all. He 79 has….But he has had to address them. He has had to withstand the immoral, destructive, divisive, 80 lies and slander caused by a narrative that refuses to accept the results of the 2023 election. He has 81 had to oversee the public works department which he was hired to over a year ago as well as 82 multiple departments of this city. He has had to deal with certain staff members and who have been 83 beholden to certain elected officials. He has been discriminated against by members of the 84 community calling him a witch doctor and postings on social media about whether or not he would 85 be one of the first of us to go to jail. 86 And yet he has led the city successfully. He has proven himself to be a leader that can stand and 87 can do the work through all the fray. 88 I have considered the other applicants. But College Park is in need of consistency and strong 89 leadership that cannot be bought, sold, bullied or fold under harassment and ethnic discrimination. 90 Leadership that steps up to the plate and gets the job done. 91 I remember, I spent several months with Dr Dent. Chaplin Dent lived with me, and she shared her 92 story being a person that came from another country to the United States. That had an accent. A 93 strong Jamaican British accent. And how she was discriminated against because people listened to 94 how she sounded rather than what was coming out of her mouth. And I think the same thing has 95 been done with Dr. Adediran. But we need leadership that will work for us and advocate for our Special Called Meeting Page 3 of 6 09/23/2024  96 citizens even when we are not working for that leadership. Over the past three years, we have 97 rolled the dice with hiring city managers who have not been proven nor been familiar with our 98 culture too many times. It's time to promote from within and get this city on our feet. In making 99 this decision - actually on September 9th, I put out some feelers to the community and I also 100 attended the HCPNA meeting. I put it out to several members of the community asking them for 101 their input in terms of what it is they wanted in a city manager. And many of them told me who 102 they wanted in a city manager. I actually had the opportunity over the last thirteen – fourteen days 103 to speak with 61 members of our community and I have their names. 61 members of our 104 community who have reached out to me through text message, through e-mail, through phone 105 calls, through in person discussions. And of the 61, 57 of them asked me as a Councilwoman to 106 hire Dr. Adediran. The other four or five - I think it was four. One of them did not know who they 107 wanted. And so, my decision to this morning, is not just made based on my statement that I shared 108 with you. But it is with the input that I received. It is also important as a community when a council 109 member asks, we need to hear from you. And that's how my decision has been made. 110 COUNCILMAN CARN: Yeah, I’ve got something. 111 MAYOR MOTLEY BROOM: Council Member Carn. 112 COUNCILMAN CARN: I'll be brief. I believe that we do need some stability at the top. I think 113 that Dr. Adediran will raise the level of expectations of department heads and staff. I've seen that 114 happen as public works director. I've seen it happen in the eight months he's been handling things 115 so far. Contrary to popular belief, Dr. Emmanuel is not beholden to anyone up here. And I believe 116 that is a good thing. I've had many times I've sat down with him and asked him about projects or 117 initiatives or things that I thought were a good idea and he did not agree. No one - no one is gonna 118 agree with any of us up here all the time. But as manager he has the inside track in terms of how 119 it affects the city’s functions, departments, and you have to trust that. But I think we're going to be 120 looking forward to making progress as a team with someone at the helm. And I look at the kind of 121 budget he put together this year as well. So, I think we're gonna to be in good shape. And we're 122 gonna make some good forward progress with him at the helm. So, I'm looking forward to good 123 things coming from him down the line here. 124 MAYOR MOTLEY BROOM: Any further discussion? Hearing none we will move to a vote. All 125 those in favor? 126 COUNCILWOMAN MCKENZIE: Aye. 127 COUNCILMAN CARN: Aye. 128 COUNCILMAN GAY: Aye. 129 MAYOR MOTLEY BROOM: Alright, that is unanimous amongst those present. So, I think that 130 concludes the business. As your mayor, I must address the city manager selection process. Which 131 I believe has fallen short of the high standards our community deserves. I believe this process has Special Called Meeting Page 4 of 6 09/23/2024 132 been troubling and sometimes not transparent beginning with the sudden shift from planned in 133 person interviews on September 7th to virtual meetings on September 2nd announced just minutes 134 beforehand leaving us unprepared for the change to this abrupt alteration. It was without prior 135 notice to council member Arnold or myself and underscores a disregard for meticulous planning 136 and fails to respect the schedules of all council members. The city manager role is pivotal. Setting 137 the direction of our city operations and long-term success. And it demands careful consideration. 138 Unfortunately, this process was hastily expedited skipping essential steps such as preliminary 139 interviews. And the lack of procedural integrity was further exacerbated by frequent unscheduled 140 meetings which not only disrupted our collaborative governance; but, also significantly limited 141 public engagement and full council participation. Specifically concerning is the ongoing issue of 142 scheduling without accommodating council members Arnold’s availability. Effectively excluding 143 her and disenfranchising constituents of Ward 3. This pattern shows a lack of respect for council 144 members. And the public's role in our goverments - governance which is unacceptable. 145 Of the candidates I interviewed under these constrained circumstances Thomas Thomas stood out 146 as the best fit for the city of College Park. His experience and professionalism align well with the 147 complexity of our needs. And should there have been a tie in the council vote I would have 148 supported Mr. Thomas for city manager. Moving forward there is still time to correct this course. 149 We must ensure all procedural steps are meticulously followed and that meetings are scheduled to 150 accommodate all council members. It is crucial our community can trust in the integrity and 151 transparency of our governance. I'm committed to fostering an environment where decisions are 152 made thoughtfully and inclusively. We owe it to our city to uphold the highest accountability and 153 public trust standards. Thank you for always supporting the city of College Park. 154 The motion was unanimous we are adjourned. 155 CITY CLERK: Do we want to approve the executive session minutes? 156 MAYOR MOTLEY BROOM: I thought we did already. 157 CITY CLERK: The minutes? 158 MAYOR MOTLEY BROOM: Oh, we exited. Is there a motion to approve the executive session 159 minutes? Thank you. 160 COUNCILMAN CARN: Motion. 161 MAYOR MOTLEY BROOM: Thank you, Council Member Carn. Is there a second? 162 COUNCILWOMAN MCKENZIE: Second. 163 MAYOR MOTLEY BROOM: Thank you, Council Member McKenzie. All those in favor? Special Called Meeting Page 5 of 6 09/23/2024 164 COUNCILWOMAN MCKENZIE: Aye. 165 COUNCILMAN CARN: Aye. 166 COUNCILMAN GAY: Aye. 167 MAYOR MOTLEY BROOM: Any opposed? Any abstentions? Okay, that is unanimous. Now we 168 are adjourned at 8:57 a.m. Take care. 169 170 171 172 173 CITY OF COLLEGE PARK 174 175 176 _________________________ 177 Bianca Motley Broom, Mayor 178 179 180 181 ATTEST: 182 183 184 ___________________________________ 185 Emmie Niethammer, Interim City Clerk 186 Special Called Meeting Page 6 of 6 09/23/2024