FREMONT – The Fremont City Council continued working through items regarding the Dodge County Humane Society (DCHS) contract during Tuesday’s regularly scheduled meeting.
At the beginning of the meeting, Mayor Getzschman stated councilmember Matt Bechtel is currently quarantining due to possible exposure at work to COVID-19 and would not be present at the meeting. All other members were present.
The first item on the agenda garnered concerns from councilmember Brad Yerger. The item was in regard to going into executive session to discuss contract negotiations and potential/threatened litigation with the DCHS contract with the city.
Yerger objected to going into an executive session for a few reasons. He stated the item was not included in the draft agenda originally published on Wednesday, October 7, on the city’s website. Due to this, the item should not be placed first on the agenda, as items are usually placed on the agenda in the timely manner they are received.
Yerger’s other reason was in regards to Nebraska statute 84-1410 in the open meetings act dealing with going into closed session. You can read more about that statute here
“For these reasons, I believe this item should be moved to the end of the agenda, with respect to the other items received before this item,” Yerger said.
The City’s Attorney and Legal Representative, Travis Jacott, stated he asked for the item to be placed on the agenda and recommended the council to approve going into executive session to avoid possible litigation.
Councilmember Michael Kuhns motioned to go into executive session with councilmember Mark Legband seconding the motion. Council proceeded to go into executive session at 7:08 pm on a 5-3 vote, with councilmembers Yerger, Ellis, and Jacobus voting no.
At 7:34 pm, the city council came out of executive session with a 7-0 vote.
Mayor Getzschman then called for councilmembers to speak regarding any changes to the current agenda before adopting it.
Councilmember Legband stated, “Per advice from the city’s attorney, I would like to make a motion to table items #17-21 indefinitely to avoid potential/threatened litigation.”
The items in question were all items placed on the agenda by councilmember Yerger regarding the DCHS contract and the dissolved Animal Control Citizen’s Advisory Board.
Yerger once again objected and stated that he felt the items should each be dealt with separately as they came on the agenda, whether that was to table them or not.
“These items should not be voted on and possibly tabled before even having any discussion, especially in bulk like this,” said Yerger.
After comments, the Mayor asked if there was a second on the floor for Legband’s motion. Councilmember Kuhns seconded the motion and councilmembers voted. The vote came to a 4-3 conclusion (not enough for a majority) until Mayor Getzschman voted yes to table Yerger’s items making the vote 5-3.
In other news, the request of the Fremont Downtown Development Group (FDDG) to close a city parking lot and a street for the Fremont Trunk and Treat was approved 5-1, with Ellis also abstaining from the vote as it was his item on the agenda.
Councilmembers Legband and Kuhns did raise some questions concerning the safety of children and families due to COVID-19 during the event.
Ellis reassured the council by stating that the FDDG had put in place many health measures to keep everyone safe including the spacing of cars and the requirement of everyone to wear masks to participate. He also said that they moved the event to a Saturday and extended the hours of the event so people can come and go at different times to avoid crowding.
Another item on the agenda that received full approval from the council was the user agreement request from Archbishop Bergan Jr/Sr High School to use Johnson Park for football practices, camps, and games.
The council meeting adjourned at 9:20 pm, one of the shortest meetings held by the council in recent months.
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