City Council

Mayor Cal Sheehy Lake Havasu City Vice Mayor David Lane Police Facility Councilmember Jeni Coke 2360 McCulloch Blvd North Councilmember Jim Dolan Lake Havasu City, Arizona Councilmember Gordon Groat 86403 Councilmember Michele Lin www.lhcaz.gov Councilmember Donna McCoy City Council Special Meeting Minutes - Final Thursday, September 10, 2020 6:00 PM 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Sheehy called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Mayor led in the pledge of Allegiance. Mayor Sheehy announced that the City Council has resumed in-person attendance at public meetings. He said members of the public can attend in-person or watch or listen to the meeting on Channel 4, or live stream on the City’s website. He added that public comments are also being accepted by emailing the City Clerk at cityclerk@lhcaz.gov at least one-hour prior to the posted start time of the meeting. 3. ROLL CALL Present: 7- Mayor Cal Sheehy, Vice Mayor David Lane, Councilmember Jeni Coke, Councilmember Gordon Groat, Councilmember Michele Lin, Councilmember Donna McCoy and Councilmember Jim Dolan 4. CALL TO THE PUBLIC The following individuals addressed the Council and spoke in opposition to the proclamation regarding masks: • Ms. Wendy Befort, citizen • Mr. Greg Befort, citizen • Ms. Sara Jones, citizen • Ms. Janet Grippi, citizen • Mr. Dave Palmer, citizen • Ms. Karen VanderJagt, citizen • Ms. Frankie Lyons, citizen • Mr. John Yola, citizen • Mr. Gregory Gilaro, citizen • Mr. Troy O’Dell, citizen Lake Havasu City Page 1 Printed on 10/14/2020 City Council Minutes - Final September 10, 2020 City Clerk Kelly Williams said one written public comment was received on Thursday, September 10, 2020, with a subject line of “Public Comment for City Council Special Meeting September 10, 2020.” Ms. Williams read the written public comment into the record as follows: “Mayor Sheehy and Council Members, I am urging you to rescind the mask mandate in Lake Havasu City Immediately. People are sick of politicians continuously moving the goalposts by extending mandates and restrictions on their freedoms. I know you’ll probably point to decreasing numbers of new cases to justify keeping the mandate in effect. But if you study the curves in other states and countries, you’ll see similarities in almost all of them. Those curves illustrate how the virus naturally runs its course regardless of mask wearing. In fact, Daniel Horowitz published an article on August 13 showing that in Kansas, the counties that opted out of the governor’s mask mandate had a lower rate of infection than those that didn’t. There are many doctors and scientists that state mask wearing makes the individual more susceptible to the virus due to cross contamination, touching your face more often and a compromised immune system along with causing a myriad of other health issues. Sadly, you seldom see or hear these doctors and medical experts as they are routinely censored by corporate media and tech giants such as Facebook and YouTube or pressured into silence by state medical boards and even some of their colleagues. And then there’s the social toll of this mandate. This is a very contentious issue and has served to further divide us as citizens. Businesses have become increasingly aggressive toward customers for non-compliance and many of them won’t even honor medical exemptions claiming they’ll be fined or shut down if they allow anyone in without a mask. Maskers are publicly berating others simply because they prefer to breathe fresh air instead of carbon dioxide. I have friends with asthma and COPD who wear masks in public just to avoid being yelled at or getting dirty looks. It’s ridiculous. Face masks are unhealthy and ineffective against a virus .12 microns in diameter and forcing healthy people (especially children) to wear them is dangerous, unconstitutional and borderline criminal. Mask mandates have nothing to do with public health; it’s all about control. I don’t need the government to protect my health, that’s my responsibility. I need the government to protect my rights and that’s not currently happening. Constitutional rights are not suspended during a crisis. I want my America back. (submitted by) Ron Danielson.” 5. VOTE TO ADJOURN TO EXECUTIVE SESSION EXECUTIVE SESSION PURSUANT TO A.R.S. § 38-41.03(A)(1)&(3): 1.) Discussion or Consideration of Employment, Assignment, Appointment, Promotion, Demotion, Dismissal, Salaries, Disciplining, or Resignation of a Public Officer, Appointee or Employee Lake Havasu City Page 2 Printed on 10/14/2020 City Council Minutes - Final September 10, 2020 1.1) Evaluation of City Manager 2.) Discussion or Consultation for legal advice with an attorney for the City, if necessary. 2.1) Discuss or consult for legal advice with an attorney for the City regarding Evaluation of City Manager. Any records or documents distributed to the City Council or any conversations occurring during executive session shall be kept confidential. Legal action involving a final vote or decision shall not be taken at an executive session. Vice Mayor Lane moved to adjourn to executive session, seconded by Councilmember Dolan, and carried by the following vote: Aye: 7 - Mayor Sheehy, Vice Mayor Lane, Councilmember Coke, Councilmember Groat, Councilmember Lin, Councilmember McCoy and Councilmember Dolan 6. ADJOURN TO EXECUTIVE SESSION The City Council adjourned to executive session at 6:34 p.m. 7. RECONVENE TO SPECIAL MEETING Vice Mayor Lane moved to reconvene to Special Meeting, seconded by Councilmember McCoy, and carried by the following vote: Aye: 7 - Mayor Sheehy, Vice Mayor Lane, Councilmember Coke, Councilmember Groat, Councilmember Lin, Councilmember McCoy and Councilmember Dolan The Special Meeting reconvened at 9:33 p.m. 8. PUBLIC HEARING 8.1 ID 20-2524 Discussion and Possible Action, If Necessary, to Comply with Arizona Open Meeting Law Following the Executive Session Regarding the Evaluation of the City Manager Mayor Sheehy said the Council met in several executive sessions to discuss the evaluation of the City Manager. He said the Council did an in-depth analysis of the City Manager’s performance and it was determined that a six-month professional development plan is the correct course of action at this time and the City Manager will be re-evaluated in six months. Mayor Sheehy opened the public hearing. Lake Havasu City Page 3 Printed on 10/14/2020 City Council Minutes - Final September 10, 2020 City Clerk Kelly Williams said one written public comment was received on Thursday, September 10, 2020, with a subject line of “Special Meeting Public hearing comment.” Ms. Williams read the written public comment into the record as follows: “Good evening Mayor and City Council. After reviewing all the facts, I hope you make the wise choice today and terminate the city manager. I would never wish this upon anyone, but in this case it is necessary. His personal life is chaotic and has brought negative attention to our city. He has stated very derogatory things on camera which were watched by thousands of residents. His history of drunkenness, wild bar visits, and immature choices will surely lead to trouble in the near future if he is allowed to keep his job. It very embarrassing to have Mr. Knudson as the face of our city at this point. Each one of you said it was your #1 priority to get this positional analysis done and get it done right. Well, the city manager led Baker Tilly down a path that satisfied his own personal agenda and did not consult with any others to get their input. The end result was a 2 year study that he led in the wrong direction or should I say in his own direction. This led to a current morale problem citywide and heavy distrust in the city leadership. This led to an end result on the analysis that made no sense and did not fix any problems, but made them worse. This also led to a waste of $90,000 in taxpayer dollars for this analysis that is completely useless now. He can blame this on Baker Tilly all he wants, but the fact of the matter is he should have fired them long ago or led them to the correct conclusion. He failed to do so and has also failed as a leader all along. He did not gather any input from the people who know the city best, his subordinates. If I were to lead a project that cost $90,000 and it turned out to be a failure and the money was a complete waste, rest assured I would be fired. If I were one of Knudson’s subordinates and did this, I would be fired. This is money that could have been used for salaries, but it’s gone. If the city manager can’t even lead a simple positional analysis, how is he going to lead the city? The answer is, he’s done a very poor job at both. We need a leader who thrives on teamwork and delivers a great product no matter how difficult the task is. We need a leader who consults with his team and doesn’t think he has the best solution for every problem. This is basic leadership that a city manager should have before he’s hired. I understand this is difficult to calculate during interviews, but the city manager snuck one by you guys, fed you a bunch of fluff and now we are paying the price. I know all of you have spent several hours discussing this and I am confident you will make the right decision. The residents and city workers deserve another city manager that is a true leader and makes correct decisions based on teamwork and common sense. We also need a leader who stays out of the bars, controls their alcohol intake, and displays professional behavior both at work and at home. The true character of Mr. Knudson has come out and it is time to move on. Let’s get him out of the way so we can get this positional analysis correct. He will continue to be a hurdle in this process if we do not move on. Thank you for listening. (submitted by) Bob Buche.” There being no further comments, Mayor Sheehy closed the public hearing. Lake Havasu City Page 4 Printed on 10/14/2020 City Council Minutes - Final September 10, 2020 Vice Mayor Lane moved to direct staff to proceed as discussed in executive session, seconded by Councilmember Dolan, and carried by the following vote: Aye: 7 - Mayor Sheehy, Vice Mayor Lane, Councilmember Coke, Councilmember Groat, Councilmember Lin, Councilmember McCoy and Councilmember Dolan 9. ADJOURN Upon motion by Vice Mayor Lane, and seconded, the meeting adjourned at 9:39 p.m. CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing is a full and true copy of the Special Meeting Minutes of the Lake Havasu City Council held on the 10th day of September, 2020. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and posted, and that a quorum was present. ____________________________________ Kelly Williams, City Clerk/MMC Lake Havasu City Page 5 Printed on 10/14/2020