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KCB
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The closed session allowed the commissioners and the city attorney to discuss the case under attorney-client privilege. The law requires that the city keep verbatim transcripts of each such session. The transcripts become public knowledge when the subject litigation ends.
Here are the closed session transcripts:
August 18, 2023 Session
October 19, 2023 Session
December 20, 2023 Session not releasedHere's a summary from both transcripts:
It is curious that (now-former) city administrator Dave Turner was an attendee for a closed, privileged attorney-client meeting.
City attorney Dirk Smits and then-seated commissioners (Freddie Foster, Tom Harding, Joey Raspe for the October and December meeting only, Patti Trefry for the August meeting only, and Beth Vickrey) plus now-former city administrator Dave Turner discussed how much the litigation would cost. Vickrey wanted to know whether they could sue their own citizens. Harding and Vickrey spent a great deal of time on the fact that the city code that lets us file a referendum and that they need to change the code before doing anything else.
Here's what contempt for your own citizens looks like:
Smits dug his heels in on his strategy that the citizen petition and referendum does not bind the commission under city code. He said he would never agree that this is a binding referendum unless the court told them so. He was ready to do a straw poll to "appease the masses." He told the commissioners that if this referendum were brought to its "absurd conclusion," it would be that everything they do is challengeable by referendum. That's bad policy, he said.
Smits admitted they were obligated to provide the petition. "So, we gave them a form." KCBers didn't like it but Smits figured "It doesn't matter what form they have" because it was going nowhere.
Vickrey asked "These people are, you know, interfering with our city businesses, and we may have damages losing the contract bid and costs incurred in this, particularly if they turn around and then appeal it and drag this out longer for us and incur these damages, what kind of legal fees and damages can we in turn go back on them for?" Smits told her there is a measurable amount of damage to seek.
On financing, the city must disclose any potential risks to the lenders. Harding tried to work around telling the lender about the litigation because "we don't need a loan for 9 or 10 months after the building goes down."
Harding discussed that finances will become an issue for the KCBers filing the petition because the city has "resources to defend much more than the average person." Harding noted the petitioners will probably run out of money. He also worried a bit about the legal bills appearing on the public record. Smits disclosed a plan to threaten that the city would pursue "fees and damages and whatever" against its citizens.
Smits professed not to understand why residents objected to the measure the commission passed. "Maybe they have a problem with HOB. Maybe they have a problem with what's being built... It's going to cost money, and we're going to get to a point way into the summer where the contractor is going to have to walk." With all the public info on this website and after determining word-for-word why the petition had to be directed at the measure to award the contract to HOB, he acted remarkably clueless.
In both sessions Harding said that "once the dust settles, we really need to go back to our code." Vickrey doubled down on that. Harding wanted to modify the code now. Smits reminded him "It's not doable right now. Litigation."
Harding then suggested "If you settle Monday morning, on Tuesday morning, we put in an update to our code." Further, he said "Maybe we're best to go through a code change for three months before we rebid."
Here are the closed session transcripts:
August 18, 2023 Session
October 19, 2023 Session
December 20, 2023 Session not released