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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN 05.24.2011 CC-SThe City Council of the City of Georgetown, Texas, met in Regular Session on the above date with Mayor George Garver presiding. Council Present: Patty Eason, Danny Meigs, Bill Sattler, Pat Berryman, Tommy Gonzalez, Troy Hellmann, Rachael Jonrowe Council Absent. All Council Present Staff Present. Paul Brandenburg, City Manager; Kevin Russell, Director of Human Resources and Civil Services; Mark Sokolow, City Attorney; Jessica Brettle, City Secretary Regular Session (Council may, at any time, recess the Regular Session to convene an Executive Session at the request of the Mayor, a Councilmember, or the City Manager for any purpose authorized by the Open Meetings Act, Texas Government Code Chapter 551.) A Call to Order -SPECIAL SESSION TO BEGIN NO EARLIER THAN 2:00 PM Berryman absent. Mayor called the meeting to order at 2:00 PM. He granted the microphone to Mark Sokolow, who requested to speak to the Council. Sokolow said he appreciates the opportunity to speak to the Council. A transcript of his remarks is outlined below: "I appreciate the opportunity to present the following observations to the City Council. I have been working with cities since 1989. It has always been exciting and I thoroughly enjoy working for the citizens of each city that I have served. For those of you who were not in the hiring process or who recently met me, I would like to let you know why after an extensive search, the City Council of Georgetown chose me. It was based on my qualifications, education, experience, and accomplishments. I am a proud Texan. I was born in Houston while my father was stationed at Ellington Air Force Base and after my father retired from the military, we returned to Houston, Texas. Berryman arrived at the dais. I went to Westbury and Bellaire High School and was there at the same time that Mayor Garver was the superintendent of HISD. Not only was I a student under Mayor Garver but also Council member Berryman's husband went to Bellaire High School at about the same time. I received a Bachelor's in History from the University of Houston and a law degree from the University of Houston. I was licensed in May 1980 and in my family's tradition, I joined the military. I was in the JAGC in the Navy from 1980 to 1984 wherein I served at the Naval Legal Service Offices in Pensacola and in Philadelphia. I served in the capacity of a City Council Meeting Minutes/ Page 1 of 5 Pages defense attorney, prosecutor, appellate staff attorney, brig magistrate, claims attorney, and legal assistance attorney. I take great pride in the service that I have provided to my country. When 1 left the service, I returned to Houston with my wife and first child and went to private practice. From late 1984 to early 1989, 1 was in private practice and worked on personal injury litigation, collections, family law and criminal defense. In early 1989, 1 decided to get into municipal law and joined the legal department of the City of Galveston. I was their litigation attorney and worked on the tax reinvestment issues. Within approximately 18 months, I was made Acting City Attorney. Thereafter in 1991, 1 accepted the position of City Attorney for the City of League City and worked there until 1996. At League City, I worked on all aspects of the city government and especially the incentive programs involving the municipal utility districts and the development of quality subdivisions. 1 also worked on flooding issues, and was involved in the condemnation wherein we obtained the land to build a drainage detention pond for Bayridge. In 1996, 1 was hired as the City Attorney of Port Arthur and worked there for over thirteen years. I was instrumental in bringing in the grant program for Community Prosecution Program wherein my office supervised teachers and counselors who provided programs for at -risk youth. The programs included anger management classes, self esteem classes, parenting classes, and lectures from nationally known speakers including Judge Mathis and provided individual counseling to at -risk children. I also worked on the industrial district agreements and with the City Manager developed incentives that brought millions of dollars of industrial revenue to the City while creating a business climate, which encouraged the expansion of the businesses and the retention of local businesses and residents. I also obtained my Masters in Public Administration from Lamar University and in my spare time, I taught political science at Lamar University and Lamar State College. I found working in Georgetown to be rewarding and a challenge. I believe the Council decision to retain me after a nationwide search, was an honor to me and was the correct decision. In the May 10, 2011 Council Meeting, there was a Motion by Mayor Pro Tem Ross and second by Councilmember Sattler that the City Attorney's performance and status will be considered and final action taken at the next regularly scheduled City Council meeting. It was approved 7-0. The regular meetings are scheduled at 6:00 PM., which makes it more accessible to the public and is the same time that public hearings are scheduled. The next regular council meeting therefore would have been May 24th at 6:00 PM. I have a concern that this special meeting at 2:00 PM. is at an earlier time than was as delineated in the Motion of Mayor Pro Tem Ross and it will raise questions as to how that was decided and who made the decision thereon. It also brings it to a time that most of the public cannot be in attendance. 1 have a concern as to the release of the 2011 evaluations in a manner that was different than the release of the 2010 evaluations. On August 24, 2010, there was a Motion by then Council member Ross and seconded by Council member Gonzalez for the City Attorney to release my 2010 evaluations with the redactions as suggested by the Attorney General in his letters dated August 23, 2010 and August 3, 2010. It was approved 7-0. Based on the council approved motion, my office released the 2010 evaluations with the redactions as approved by the Attorney General's office and released on August 25, 2010. Last week, four documents pertaining to my 2011 evaluation were released publicly on the Internet. It included my self-evaluation, the Council evaluation, the staff evaluation and the survey. Previously, I was informed that Ms. Dickie had requested an Attorney General's opinion as to the release of these 2011 documents. By releasing these documents in this manner, it has deprived the City Council and the new council members of reviewing the rationale and opinion of the Attorney General's office on the 2011 evaluation and it will raise questions as to who authorized the release. It should have been a council decision made in a transparent manner and in an open meeting. It also brings into a concern as to apparently inconsistent advice being received. On July 8th, 2010 the City Council received an opinion from an outside law firm that my evaluations are confidential and should not be disseminated. If there was a change in position thereon, the premature release of the 2011 evaluations deprived the City Council and the new Council members of the ability to review the new opinion of the outside firm and give their input as to why. The release of the 2011 documents should have been made as a result of a Council decision in a public vote. The release of the 2011 documents also deprived the City Council of the ability to segregate out and put in a confidential file the portions of the documents that the Attorney General indicates does not need to be disclosed as they are privileged. The segregation of documents into confidential folders has been allowed in the past and is allowed under the Code of Ordinances. Also, what was released was not the full evaluation and did not include the related materials. The release on the internet did not include my email dated September 22, 2010 on the evaluation and communication, my email dated October 19, 2010 on the evaluation process and my email dated December 14, 2010 on remarks that should never be made. It also did not include my February 2011 letter that I handed out to each council member during my discussions on my evaluation. The decision to release the documents should have involved a discussion as to the need to release all of the documents and not just a few of them. Again, the City Council should have been consulted and they should have been the ones to authorize the release in a transparent and open manner, by a public vote, the same way it was done in August 2011. The City Council should investigate the release of these types of documents, which occurred without City Council approval as to prevent such activity from re -occurring. Later I would like to discuss with your permission by February letter wherein I indicated to the Council that I helped assist staff with over $4 million in savings. That type of letter, which is what 1 gave to you- if you are going to release the rest of the evaluation, in all fairness, that should have City Council Meeting Minutes/ Page 2 of 5 Pages been released as well. Even based on the limited documents that were published on the Internet, I have now received support, mostly from the minority community and I appreciate that, as they know what I have promoted in other cities, which included the retention of local residents and the fair treatment of minorities. As stated before, I have over twenty years of municipal experience and as someone undiplomatically pointed out, 1 am getting older. It is time to move on and I will retire. The effective date must allow enough time for transition to an experienced attorney who can take over which is a requirement of the Code of Ordinances and the personnel policies. The financial package in the proposed Retirement Agreement is substantially equal to the May 18, 2011 proposal that I received from Ms. Dickie with due consideration as to the financial impact of the suggested new effective date as to ensure a smooth transition and the deletion of any available compensation from the Texas Workforce that was previously offered. The proposed effective date will be July 1, 2011. This allows the City Council at the next regular meeting, to appoint an Interim Attorney and to approve the Retirement Agreement that has been properly posted and available for the public to review prior to the approval by the City Council. The Code of Ordinances does require that proposed contracts need to be placed in the packets for public approval prior to Council action. I am recommending that you appoint as an Interim City Attorney, either Randy Stump who is an experienced municipal and local attorney or Trish Carls. After you make your decision as to who will be the Interim City Attorney, I can work with either her or him as to discuss the status of pending items which includes the award of the construction contract to DNT and the affect of the CHASCO challenge as well as the bankruptcy proceeding, the development of the agreement between Grape Creek, GEDCO, the City and the Reinvestment Zone as to bring another winery to downtown Georgetown, the development of the agreement with Lone Star as have them relocate a portion of their operations in the Georgetonian and keep their headquarters in Georgetown, the negotiation of an Emergency Service Organization Agreement with Williamson County as to receive assurance of a minimum response time, for example 12 minutes or the City has an option to call other ambulances to come to the scene, the resolution of the dispute with Pulte Homes over improvements that need to be made in Sun City as to avoid flooding , the remaining licenses to be signed with Texas Crushed Stone and with Georgetown Railroad Company as well as other pending projects in the legal department. By placing the contract on the June 71h agenda, you are also complying with portions of the agreement that requires a 21 -day mandatory review period. There is a recognition that the payment of the six months are also being made to me so that I will be available to assist the City in any legal proceedings against the City. As Council member Gonzalez is aware, he made the motion to award the construction contract to DNT at a recent GTEC Board meeting based on my advice and it will save the City approximately $800,000. DNT submitted a bid for $6,282,850 while the CHASCO bid was much higher. This item is scheduled to be reviewed and acted on at today's regular council meeting. If Council member Gonzalez or the remainder of the Council have questions as to my legal advice, I would recommend that you defer the award of the contract to DNT and refer the matter to another attorney outside of my office. Nevertheless, I am quite willing to work with the new Interim City Attorney as to defend that decision as well as defend any other decisions that I have made during my tenure with the City. 1 have inserted a provision in the Retirement Agreement wherein we agree not to disparage each other and work together in the future as a team. This is important for the transition process and for the future defense of city claims. I will be a Georgetown retiree and I want to take pride in the fact that I was a part of this organization and was able to contribute on many projects whether it was the Lake Water Treatment Plant Expansion, the purchase of land on D.B. Woods for the fire and police training facility, the award of the construction contract for SE1, the economic development agreement with San Gabriel which will hopefully bring economic development to downtown and on other projects. I met with the Director of Personnel and we both have concerns as to the anonymous surveys and the prudency of having them. Apparently, he has received remarks, which were just as bad. In Port Arthur, we had programs to educate employees to be sensitive to diversity and other ethnic groups. I would recommend that the City of Georgetown adopt similar programs. It is very disenchanting that there are staff members who have expressed some very inappropriate remarks in an anonymous and cowardly fashion as to use words such as "Old Dog" or "Monkey". The Council should take prompt action as not to give the impression that you are indifferent to the sensitivities of the minority population and of employees who are working at a later stage of their lives. 1 do appreciate the following Council comments: "His department has saved the city money. His suggestions on the 4A Board have protected the taxpayer financially as well. Any complaint from staff about his fiscal conservatism is not listening to the taxpayers of Georgetown and the fiscal conservatism they are demanding from all of us within our city bureaucracy". I do appreciate the following staff comment: "Being that Mark has many years of experience as a City Attorney, his knowledge base regarding municipal legal issues is broad. It is also evident that Mark cares a lot about his job and he works very well under pressure. He is friendly, honest and tries his best to get along with his fellow coworkers. Mark has also hired an excellent staff who are patient, smart and display an incredible amount of customer service. His staff are hard workers who go out of their way to make sure they can address the needs of fellow staff in a quick and timely fashion." Attached is the version of the proposed Retirement Agreement, which 1 believe that the City Council will find to be fair and appropriate. " City Council Meeting Minutes/ Page 3 of 5 Pages He said he would like to pass out copies of the retirement agreement to the Council. He provided the signed retirement agreement to Martha Dickie. He provided council with other documents related to his employment with the city and he described those documents. He showed Council a version of the August 3, 2010 Attorney General's letter opinion, which authorized the release of a redacted portion of his evaluation. He read a portion of this letter for the Council. He showed council the Executive Session motion on August 24, 2010, which asked Sokolow to withdraw the lawsuit and release the redacted evaluations. He said the motion at the last meeting said nothing about a release of of Executive Session. He showed Council the April 11, 2011 Open Records Request from the Williamson County Sun for his evaluations and any related documents as well as legal papers. He showed Council the minutes of the May 10, 2011 meeting regarding the motion concerning the City Attorney's employment status discussion. He spoke about the letter dated February 22, 2011 about his $4 million in savings. He continued to describe the documents being provided to the Council. He said the Sun asked for the three related documents and added the Council should see those documents, which are the emails. He said he was disappointed as to the packets released on the agenda that included the evaluations, but not these supporting documents and emails. He spoke about the questions that were raised about the hiring of the Assistant City Attorney. He said he would like to pass out a memo that shows that he backed her up in a very difficult circumstance. He said there were questions or remarks about the communication that he has had with other department heads. He noted he has provided Council with an example of this type of communication. He spoke about how he deals with the County and added he has provided Council with an example of how he communicates with them. He said there are senior staff members that do appreciate what he's done for the City. He said he has provided Council with his mid -year status report. He said tonight the Council has an item about DNT and Chasco and added the Council has a challenge from CHASCO as well. He said there was a challenge from Ken Martin about the release of the evaluations to him. He said what was released was determined as correct by the Attorney General's Office and upholds the integrity of his legal assistant. He said there are also a few memos on some recent events. He said he was not provided with the request to the Attorney General's office for the release of his 2011 evaluations. He reviewed to the Council the Open Records Request that was received by the Attorney General's office from Martha Dickie and her law firm. He continued to describe this request to the Council. He said, in his opinion, it should have been a Council decision to release the evaluation documents to the public. He added he also had concerns about the posting of the special meeting. He said, at the next Council meeting, they should appoint an Interim City Attorney and also review the agreement that has been presented to them. He noted he suggests they consider the amount of transition time and added his original employment contract had a transition time of 90 days. He said he has enjoyed working with several employees at the City. He spoke about the Director's Meetings on Monday mornings and how he has enjoyed the camaraderie between the senior staff. Council recessed for 5 minutes and then convened in Executive Session under Section 551.071 of the Texas Open Meetings Act -- 2:45 PM B Personnel Action: Discussion and decision regarding the employment status of the City Attorney, Mark Sokolow. The City Council wishes to provide all the legal prerogatives specified by the City Charter and State Law to the City Attorney. Outside attorney Martha Dickie will assist the Mayor with this responsibility during this meeting. Council returned to Open Session at 4:55 PM Executive Session In compliance with the Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551, Government Code, Vernon's Texas Codes, Annotated, the items listed below will be discussed in closed session and are subject to action in the regular session that follows. C Sec. 551.071: Consultation with Attorney - Discuss with Martha Dickie, outside attorney, the legal aspects of items B and D • D Discussion and possible action regarding potential settlement of all claims with City Attorney Mark Sokolow. Mayor reviewed this item and introduced the City Council's outside attorney on this issue, Martha Dickie, to the audience. Dickie said they have negotiated with Sokolow and he has agreed that he will be retiring from the City of Georgetown effective June 14, 2011. She said he will be receiving six months severance pay and the Texas Municipal League will be paying 3 months of that amount. She said there is a full comprehensive release of all matters between the city and Sokolow. She said Sokolow has agreed to participate with the City in any way City Council Meeting Minutes/ Page 4 of 5 Pages after his retirement. She said this document will be available to anyone who wants to review it. She said Sokolow will sign and tender today a letter regarding his retirement effective June 14, 2011. Motion by Gonzalez, second by Meigs to approve the retirement agreement with Mark Sokolow. Approved 7-0 Dickie said the other thing discussed is that there will be attached a copy of his February letter as well as a transcript of his comments made earlier today to the minutes of this meeting. Sokolow thanked Council for their time. He said this is a fresh start and he accepts the Council's decision as to the amount of transition time they prefer. He said Georgetown is a beautiful place and he would proudly join the other retirees. He said, in the last two months here, he has lost over 20 pounds by just walking the trails. He said he thinks Randy and staff have done a wonderful job with the local parks. Sokolow thanked Council for the opportunity to serve the City of Georgetown. E Presentation by the Director of Human Resources for the City of Georgetown of previous evaluations and related information regarding the performance and management of the City Attorney. F Comments from employee(s) relative to the performance of the City Attorney. .<. G Presentation to Council by City Attorney. The City Attorney will have one hour to present any information he wishes to share. H Comments from the audience. Three minutes will be made available to each person in the audience who wishes to address the Council relative to this issue. Please complete a request form to be allowed to address Council. This item was pulled from the agenda by the Council. Discussion and possible action by the City Council. This item was pulled from the agenda by the Council. J Adjournment. Motion by Jonrowe, second by Meigs to adjourn. Adjourned at 5:03 PM City Council Meeting Minutes/ Page 5 of 5 Pages The meeting was adjourned at 05:03 PM. Secretary'essica Brettle A EST. 3648 GEOROETOWN TEXAS February 22, 2011 MARK SOKOLOW, CITY ATTOP\.NEY CITY OF GEORGETOWN Dear Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem Ross, and Council Members. Since October 19, 2009, the following are key matters wherein I have had a significant impact which may not have otherwise occurred. 6/19/2010 'Purchased 20.1772 acres on O.B. Wood Road at $1.75 psf for $1,533,534. Saved $2.50 psf from other site at Shell Road which was offered at $3.75 psf. 12/7/2010 'Clarified Elster Agreement as to incorporate project support services of $523,000 on Page 3 of the agreement into the Exhibit "A" of $7,880,565.16. Savings.$1,280,000 Savings: $523,000 510 W. 9"' St. I P.O. Box 409 1 Gaorgetmva Texas 73627-0409 1 (512) 930-3354 I (51D 931-7657 (fax) wmv.georgetowii.org I i*lsokaio;v@georgetoivn.org 11/23/2010 i' CommitteeLakewater as to address concerns on $12,469,899 recommended by Project _ • now rebid, it is $10,351,187. 4%23/2010 *Settled the litigation of First Citizens Bank vs. City for only $ 20,000 as our liability was over $113,480 due to failure to honor 2,n assignment. _ • had R' • 9.ctive since !'. 'Stopped daily citations which appeared harassing to business community, i.e. Jimmy Jacobs Custom Homes was cited 30 consecutive times. *Lessened risk of Texas Crushed Stone Industrial. District Agreement by removing City's assumption of full .liability, inserting limited liability of EL 217 and requests County to share in liability. I bring to the City over 20 years experience with cities which litigation/riskinclude not only document review, but also analysis. I appreciate the confidence that you have placed M my Though that I have saved the City monies in an efficient manner, which I believe the . citizens . . and . busm*ess community appreciates. Also, I have promoted policies to treat the business community and local community with additional consideration. Sincerely,