HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/04/1995 Minutes - Special MeetingMINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR DECEMBER 4, 1995 1. CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Papen called the meeting to order at 9:05 a.m. in the AQMD Auditorium, 21865 E. Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, California. Mayor Papen announced that the meeting was not being televised by Jones Intercable; however, it was being audio taped. M/Papen advised that a letter had been received by C/Harmony on City stationary, stating that MPT/Werner is the Mayor and that C/Harmony elected not to be present at this meeting. ROLL CALL: Council Members Ansari, Mayor Pro Tem Werner and Mayor Papen. Council Member Harmony was excused. RECESS: M/Papen recessed the meeting at 10:35 a.m. to give an opportunity for the City Manager and City Attorney to arrive. RECONVENE: M/Papen reconvened the meeting at 10:39 a.m. Also present were Terrence L. Belanger; City Manager, Michael Jenkins, City Attorney and Lynda Burgess, City Clerk. I. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION CENSURING CLAIR HARMONY FOR ACTIVITIES FOR THE UNAUTHORIZED UTILIZATION OF CITY RESOURCES - CM/Belanger stated that on November 30, 1995, City staff received two undelivered pieces of correspondence to addressees as well as telephone contact from a third firm that had received such letter, on City stationary, substantially the same as the two letters that were unable to be delivered. The contents of the letter referred to a fact-finding investigation relating to political contributions, named three individuals and attached a list of 29 contributors. In discussing the matter with the City Attorney's office, it was determined that in order to assure that the City of Diamond Bar, as a municipal corporation, was not exposed to possible liability for statements contained in the correspondence, it was important to let the individuals that received the correspondence, as well as those who are subject to the letter, know as immediately as possible that the City was not involved in any of the activities purported to be taking place within the letter. This has been done, by letter, that has been addressed to all those who received the letter as well as those individuals named in the letter. The meeting was scheduled to officially notify the community at large by acknowledging awareness of the situation and to disavow any part by the Council, as it relates to the activities undertaken by C/Harmony. M/Papen asked for any comments by Council. Seeing none, she opened the meeting for comments by the public. DECEMBER 4, 1995 PAGE 2 M/Papen stated that a letter was received from Steven Nice, dated 12/4/95, apologizing for not being able to attend due to job-related activities. He protested the meeting being held and did not believe the Council has a right to censure anyone on the use of City stationary. Gary Neely, Diamond Bar Caucus, stated that based upon legal advice received, he would not elaborate on the matter, but indicated that Nick Anis is not a member, and has never been a member of the Diamond Bar Caucus. He has never been empowered to speak or act as a spokesman on behalf of the Diamond Bar Caucus. The official position of the Caucus was to support the censure of C/Harmony and to express their deep appreciation to both the Councilmembers and City staff for their prompt action in this matter. CM/Belanger stated that C/Harmony had communicated with the City Council regarding this matter. Oscar Law stated that he was not aware of this meeting, and that the public has a right to know the details involved so that they can either agree or disagree with the censure. In response to Mr. Law, M/Papen read into the record the letter sent _ by MPTMerner, C/Ansari and herself in response to C/Harmony's letter, which is the basis for the censurship. Council has been advised by the City Attorney not to distribute C/Harmony's letter. CM/Belanger suggested that M/Papen wait to read the letter until the City Attorney joined the meeting. In response to M/Papen asking if it would be appropriate to read the letter sent out by the Council regarding C/Harmony's letter, CA/Jenkins indicated approval. M/Papen then read the letter signed by M/Papen, MPT/Werner and C/Ansari in its entirety. Mr. Law stated that it appears that Mr. Harmony wrote a letter that the other City Council Members did not approve of; however, he still didn't know what C/ Harmony did to warrant censure. CA/Jenkins read the letter from C/Harmony dated November 30, 1995 to an individual on the campaign listing of the Diamond Bar Caucus as attached as an enclosure. He then read the proposed Resolution regarding the censure of C/Harmony. Martha Bruske, 600 Great Bend Dr., asked if a policy regarding the use of City stationary had been enacted. She asked about the timing on this matter. M/Papen asked MPTA/Verner to respond to Mrs. Bruske's questions. DECEMBER 4, 1995 PAGE 3 He stated that the timing of the incident is a direct result of the City's awareness of circumstances surrounding the incident, no other reason. Further, the City is not conducting any investigation and not to state this would imply that the City is in agreement with the letter. Al Rumpilla, 23958 Golden Spgs. Dr., spoke in opposition to the censure due to the fact that it does nothing to the person. If a resolution is going to be adopted, put some "teeth" in it. Wilbur Smith, 21630 Fairwind Ln., asked for a clear-cut, definitive statement where Mr. Harmony broke some rule, some law, some statement of appropriate action regarding the use of City stationary. If the Council cannot specify in detail and show that he has committed action against some law, then Council doesn't have a case. Nancy Villalobos stated that the action being taken may be construed as a continuation of the feud between Mr. Harmony and a present Council Member. Also, Mr. Harmony may be discriminated against. Don Gravdahl stated that he felt that by the quick action of the Council, they may be able to limit liability that may be imposed on the Council. Debby O'Connor, 23725 Bower Cascade, approved of the quick action by the Council. Jack Gutowski stated that he could not believe that Mr. Neely would put the City through a lawsuit and felt that this was a 'Witch hunt." He asked if the Brown Act had been violated when the letter was drafted. M/Papen advised that no meeting had taken place for the drafting of the letter. Nick Anis objected to the letter being distributed, and since he was under the impression that it would not be distributed, his attorney did not file for a restraining order against Mr. Harmony. He asked Council Member -elect Huff to state whether he supported the resolution. He asked that the Resolution be corrected, since it fails to point out that the sample letter knowingly and intentially misrepresents the amount of money for deceptive purposes. M/Papen asked for clarification on the letter Mr. Anis was referring to. Mr. Anis stated that the letter received by the City, by Mr. Harmony, misrepresents the amounts of the contributions. Further, last year, Mr. Harmony stated that he did not have any City stationary, however, it appears that he misrepresented himself to the public. DECEMBER 4, 1995 PAGE 4 Bob Huff, Council Member -elect, stated that he supported the Council's action. M/Papen reported that she had been asked why she was at the meeting and that she advised that she is still an elected official and that if she was not here, there would not have been a quorum since Mr. Harmony had elected not to attend the meeting. By being here, it made an opportunity to deal with an issue that needed to be dealt with immediately. C/Ansari explained that she had no problem with Mr. Harmony writing a letter, doing any investigations on his own stationary, in his own house; however, as an elected official she felt that there is a fiduciary responsibility to protect the City's liability. if any other Council Member had written such a letter, she would have reacted in the same way. In regard to the timing of the meeting, the Council had a responsibilty to act promptly. This is to let people know that we won't tolerate this type of behavior by anyone. MPT/Werner expressed concern with some of the testimony given today regarding the censure of Mr. Harmony. — C/Ansari moved and M/Papen seconded to adopt Resolution No. 95- 61: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR CENSURING COUNCILMEMBER CLAIR HARMONY FOR ACTIVITIES UNBECOMING OF A CITY COUNCILMEMBER as amended with the addition of a clause to remove Mr. Harmony from all representation on committees to outside agencies where he represents the City until reorganization of the new Council. In response to MPT/Werner, M/Papen explained that on November 27, a letter was received from the Wildlife Corridor Conservation Authority which showed C/Harmony as the delegate. It appeared as though a representation was made at the November Corridor meeting changing delegates, yet no Council action had been taken removing her as the City's delegate nor appointing C/Harmony as the official delegate. MPT/Werner asked that the date within the Resolution be changed, that the section recommended by both C/Ansari and M/Papen be added and that Mr. Neely be classified as a businessman, not a resident of the City. He agreed with Mr. Rumpilla regarding having more "teeth" in the Resolution. M/Papen stated that Mr. Harmony had been contacted on several occasions regarding misstatements and other slanderous and libelous attacks that he has made regarding her and others. She further stated that she is very song that the meeting had to be called and that DECEMBER 4, 1995 PAGE 5 the Council must take this action. With the following Roll Call vote, motion carried: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS - Ansari, MPT/Werner, M/Papen NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS - None ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS - C/Harmony MPT/Werner requested a Closed Session regarding potential litigation mentioned during the public comments, to see if there is any further action necessary to be taken by the Council. CA/Jenkins stated that he understood MPT/Werner's concern; however, it should be discussed during a Closed Session scheduled at another time. M/Papen asked if the City Attorney could give a status report in regard to the tie vote for the Council seat. CA/Jenkins stated that he could not discuss the matter since it was not on the current agenda. The California Elections Code provides that in the event of a tie vote, the determination is made by lot by the Secretary of State, in the absence of an ordinance or resolution prior to the election that would allow for a special run-off election. He further stated that the election results can be accepted by the Council at the next meeting 3. ADJOURNMENT: With no further business to conduct the, meeting was adjourned at 11:55 a.m. ATTEST: Lynda Burgess, Gtty Clerk Mayor