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Home My WebLink About06/11/1984 City Council Minutes of the City Council of the City of The Colony held on June 11, 1984 An EMERGENCY SESSION of the City Council of the City of The Colony, Texas was called to order at 7:30 p.m. with the following members present: Larry D. Sample Mayor Scott North Councilman Helen Gray Councilman Don Amick Councilman Charles Dodds Councilman Marlene Poole Councilman and with Councilman Long absent; however, a quorum was established. Mr. Ken Dipple, City Attorney was present as well. 1. CLOSED DOOR SESSION AS AUTHORIZED BY ARTICLE 6252-17 SECTION 2-e OF VERNON'S ANNOTATED CIVIL STATUTES REGARDING LITIGATION. Mayor Sample indicated that a Closed Door Session was no longer necessary; however, the Council would convene in Open Session to take any necessary action. Janice Carroll , City Manager, said that this agenda was posted in a timely manner but that it was taken down and corrected to show that the Council would reconvene in Open Session to take any necessary action. At this time, Mayor Sample turned the floor over to Council- man North. Councilman North then gave the following state- ment: Mayor, Members of the Council, and Citizens of The Colony. I want to make a statement at this time regarding the law suit currently pending. I would like to make a statement on my own. During a period of time back in February, the dates are not spelled out at this time, I particularly negotiated on my own with a contract for the City of The Colony and did not consult with the committee nor the Council. The nego- tiations I had were for the sale of the 13 acres of land the City now owns. The discussions I had, inadvertently disclosed some figures and information that the committee and the Council had agreed to keep quiet. After a suit was filed and after visiting with City Attorney, John Boyle, and informing the Council, less than approximately 48 hours ago, I feel that nothing that anyone didd on this Council, including myself, have done anything morally or legally wrong. However, I feel as though, I am currently not in step with this current (?:;.~,'nc] l. It is and has always been my contention, that when anyone gets burned out. arid somewhat out of touch with t?.., t~'~;t of the Council, they should step aside. Th~.s ."u~-~:3.~ ly ~a:~<;~ {b~s my p~s~t~on and I apologize for this a.tt ]'on :~t. z~-~: as th~,;g~: ~.~::s woul~ be in the best fnteres~ of '..[~ L;ir_y. It is ~) ;cai conz~rn and that what my real c',n'-'- .'~ '~, is for the go,~ cf th~s an my church and my ef~or~ .... wi i.~ r:,~' D~, r.~,t~. 0 0.1.'? 4 Councilman North then said he would like this to become effective immediately. Mayor Sample then gave the following statement: Certain events that occurred during our recent sale of the city's 13.606 acre land tract have come to our attention, that lead us to believe the bidding process was not con- ducted in a fair and equitable manner. It has come to our attention that a member of council did divulge the high bid to the agent of the eventual winner of the bid. This information is being divulged voluntarily and unilaterally by this Council. The plantiffs, Nick Oprea and Shawn McGrath, in our recent lawsuit had no knowledge of this event until this announcement. In recent depositions, both responded, under oath, that they had no reason to suspect "inside in- formation" had been desimilated by any representative of the City of The Colony. This knowledge had been withheld from myself and other members of the Council until the last few days. As elected officials given a public trust, we are both dismayed and embarrassed by this action. We cannot continue to defend a process which was less than fair to all involved. While the events involved do not constitute any illegal action, each of us feel a responsibility to maintain the highest of ethics in this City government. We have taken the follow- ~ng step to correct this inequality. 1. We are requesting the land transaction be re-bid. Mayor Sample then gave the floor to Mr. Dipple. Mr. Dipple said he has been in contact with the plantiffs attorney and Talmadge Tinsley attorney. He has asked Talmadge Tinsley to recend their contract; however, they are not interested in doing so until Mr. Wideman, agent, gives his deposition. He briefly discussed the details involving Mr. Wideman and his scheduled deposition. He went on to say as far as the contract with Talmadge Tinsley is concerned, it should be voided in order for this matter to be re-bid. Councilman Amick asked, if Talmadge Tinsley won't recend their bid, would we file suit to do so? Mr. Dipple said an action to recend would be filed tomorrow. He said there are three questions involved in this matter. They are: 1. Was the procedure correct? 2. Was the Public welfare served? & 3. Was everyone treated fair? He went on to say that the statutory procedure was followed and was correct. The public welfare is served if the City got the highest reasonable marke~ value for the property and treated all bidders in a fair an~ equitable manner. Which up until this time, we felt everything had been handled properly. Mr. Dipple added that during the depositions, Mr. McQuary, Talmadge Tinsley's Vice President testified that fair market value on this land is $3.50 to $4.00 per square foot. Following a lengthy discussion, Councilman Amick commended Mr. Dipple for all his hard work on this case. Councilman Dodds then moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Councilman Peele, the motion passed with a unanimous vote. Mayor Sample adjourned the meeting at 7:50 p.m. Approved: t/--La~y~.~ampl~ Mayor Jack'add, City Secretary