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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/21/1991 City Council MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON OCTOBER The Regular Session of ~the City'Council of the City of The Colony, Texas was called to order at 6:30 p.m. on the 2]st day of October, ]99], at Ci~,y,,Hal~l .-with the following Council roll call: William W. Manning, Mayor Present Mike Lynch~ Councilman Present Billy Sharp, Councilman Present Dale Therio, Councilman Present Rob Burchard, Councilman Present Lou Gomez, Councilman Present Joel Marks,.Mayor Pro-tem Present and with seven present~ a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: ]. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Manning.,e~pRained ,that the meeting is being called to order one hour,earlier than usual so that the Council can meet in executive session, prior to the regular agenda in an effort to keep the meeting from running too late into the evening. 6:34 p.m. recess, to Executive Session 6:40 p.m. 2. EXECUTIVE SESSION AS AUTHORIZED BY ARTICLE 6252-]7, V.A.C.S., SECTION 2G REGARDING PERSONNEL, TO-WIT: A. CITY MANA.G~ER.. ,, 8:29 reconvene 4. CITIZEN INPUT John Dillard, 49]6 Crawford Dr, said he has been a citizen of The Colony since ]978 and has been proud of that. He said he is concerned about a Channel 8 report regarding the City Manager pleading guilty to 2 C,lass~A misdemeanor charges. Mr. Dillard said his trust in city .government i.s eroded unless the City Council addresses this issue. John C. Mitchell, 430] Queen Cir. said the last time he came to a Council meeting-was,to speak about the air field around the Animal Shelter and he was told the problem would be resolved. Mr. Mitchell said.after the meeting, he received a letter regarding his lease of city land. He said due to these convictions, he has lost all faith and asked for Bill Hall's resignation. 3 Mayor Mann,ing clarified that Mr. Hall was not convicted. Bill Longo, 50]2 Middletoa Cir. said he had gone through channels for 8 weeks and asked why he has to live next door to a house with 2' tall grass. He said no one can tell him why nothing has been done, noting he has called the police department to secure the house. Mr. Longo displayed a box of grass to those present. Marlene Pool~, 5640 Twitt~ St.~ advised she is a past member of the City Council (a 6 year member) and that she is very familiar with city government and the council and manager duties. Ms. Poole likened this situation to that of the recent Supreme Court hearings involving Judge Clarence Thomas. She went on to say Mr. Hall is a lone professional running this city and he is a confessed criminal, guilty of wire tapping and assault on a female. Ms. Poole said as a woman she is horrified to see him here and told the council they cannot condone these actions, stating that turning their heads will be a lack of responsibility. Tom Bogan, 4232 Ireland, said he is an eleven year resident of The Colony and that he has known Bill Hall a long t~me. Mr. Bogan said he believes the r:eports are none of our business and that they have no place in this room. He~ said Mr. Hall has been charged with misdemeanors and ~that. he doubts anyone in this room is without marital problems, noting that he is sure they don't want those problems on Channel 8. Mr. Bogan said this needs to be put into perspective and let Mr. Hall get on with doing his job. Roosevelt Johnson, 5077 Thompson, said he did not find out about the charges against the City Manager from our local paper but from his work. He said he is always bragging on The Colony and it hurts to hear negativism regarding the city. He said there are 3 things to remember ]) duty, 2) honor and 3) country (defined as City) He said the trust has been eroded and that the council has a duty to honor the City of The Colony. Linda Hall, 494] Strickland, stated she decided to come to the Council as it appears they have fallen away from the merits of the issues involved. Ms. Hall went on to say the issues at hand are not just domestic as this is an issue that strikes at the very core of this communities values and morals. Ms. Hall said the moral issue of spousal abuse should not be tolerated by anyone, especially the council, and that the status in the community of the person doing the abuse should not be a factor in reporting any incident. Then addressing the issue of wire intercept~ Ms. Hall asked the council t~ think what it would be like to discover that their telephone conversations~ were .bering taped, noting the device was activated by the answering machine as well as the telephone. She said the Council needs .to addre~ss these two issues, stating she knows they are concerned with the image of the city and that they should consider the moral, ethical and legal ramifications of these 4 acts when making their decision. Ms. Hall asked the council if they are sending out a loud and clear message that they condone spousal abuse and that a person has no right to privacy, and if they are acting on the voice of the people or are they succumbing to other pressures. Joe Clark, 5556 Ragan, said he is not in the habit of addressing the City Council, but that he is upset at the situation regarding the City Manager. He said there has been too much hurt in this city and other people have jumped on a band wagon, noting that these charges have nothing to do with management. He said the charges stem from a person in pain and malicious prosecution. Mr. Clark said an assault can be anything from a Class C misdemeanor to a felony. He said this was a Class C, the same as a ticket, with a fine only. He stated that as for the bugging of her phone~ it was placed there before the couple split and went on to say there are other issues that have nothing to do with the charges. Mr. Clark said technically there is a violation, but the law is not black and .white. He cited an example; if officers gave tickets for people doing 31 in a 30 mile speed zone, people would be unhappy. Officers haveto interpret the intent of the law and there is a lot of gray area. Mr. Clark said he is ~ concerned about spousal abuse as anyone and quoting the penal code gave the definition of Class C assault. Mr. Clark said that fits lots of situations and the police department is required to investigate any allegation and to interpret the intent of the law. Mr. Clark said all public officials live in glass houses and that he hopes the City Council is perceptive, just and duty bound. He said to Bill Hall, "I hope you are kept in the position you deserve and I am behind you ]00%". Dennis Brouwer, #1 Holden Cir. said he believes The Colony needs to grow up, raise their standards and become part of the metroplex. Mr. Brouwer encouraged people to vote, get involved, to contact their councilman, attend council meetings or watch them on Cable T.V. and reminded all that our actions on or off duty have everything to do with our character. At this time, City Manager Bill Hall addressed the Council., stating that over the past two months, he has been faced with several very difficult things in his personal life, things that have for whatever reason come into the public eye. Mr. Hall said two of those were formal charges filed against me by Linda (his wife) and have generated numerous rumors and untrue statements. Going on, Mr. Hall said that as a public figure in this city, he believes he needs to address these issues, and stated that they were totally domestic and started with divorce proceedings that he had filed. Mr. Hall addressed the first issue, being assault charges, stating that most of the audience has heard the allegation that: (]) "I grabbed Linda's arm and threw her across the room!" (2) "I grabbed her arm, threw her across the room and broke her 5 arm." or (3) most recently from the newspaper, "I grabbed her arm, lifted her off the floor and drew back my fist to hit her!" Mr. Hall stated those allegations and rumors are totally false! Mr. Hall said the charge that was filed and to which he pled guilty was very specific and then read the charge from the actual complaint as follows: "Intentional~ly and knowingly cause physical contact with Linda Hall by grabbing Linda Hall's arm with the defendant's hand when the defendant knew or should have reasonably believed that Linda Hall would regard the contact as offensive." Hall went on, to address the second item; why he entered a plea of guilty to this as well as the "attempted wire intercept". He said on October ]6th he was contacted by his attorney to discuss this charge, as well as the assault charge. He said that discussion was directed to the option of going to trial or pleading guilty to two misdemeanor charges and accepting a set judgement. Mr. Hall said there .were no options to address the individual charges. Mr. Hall .said he gave a great deal of consideration to this proposal and elected to ent.er a guilty plea. He said that if he elected not to do so he could have waited several months before a trial date and potenti-al legal fees of $20,000 - $25,000~ regardless of, the outcome of the trail. Going on, Mr. Hall said he quite honestly is not in a financial position or emotional state to pursue that option. Mr. Hall said ~the result of his decision was a plea of guilty in District Court to a misdemeanor charge of "attempted wire intercept" for which he was fined $300.00, placed on ]80 days probation and 60 hours of community service. Regarding the assault charge, Mr. Hall said that in Justice Court he entered a plea of guilty to misdemeanor assault and was fined $100.00. Mr. Hall said this was his decision and for that he will have to answer. Mr. Hall noted that he voluntarily moved out of his own home almost two months ago to prevent this type of situation, however, things had gone beyond his control. 9:0] return to Executive Session 2. EXECUTIVE SESSION AS AUTHORIZED BY ARTICLE 6252-]7~ V.A.C.S.~ SECTION 2G REGARDING PERSONNEL, TO-WIT: A. CITY MANAGER 10:05 reconvene Mayor Manning asked if anyone on Council had a statement. Councilman Burchard said this is a decision the Council has struggled with over the past week-end. He said there are lots of unsubstantiated -allegations~ but enough to cause doubt and he asked the City Manager 'to tender his resignation. Councilman Gomez then addressed the Council reading a prepared 6 statement. (See Attachment "A") Councilman Lynch thanked Councilman Gomez for paying attention to his (Lynch) attendance record, going on said Councilman Gomez should thank him and Councilman Burchard for such a large forum to blind side the rest of us. Councilman Lynch said he missed two regular meetings due ~to his employment, but said he is not here to defend his attendance record. He said he is here as an elected official to respect the integrity of the city and the people in be they elected or appointed. Councilman Lynch said we are here to question the capability and the ability of the City Manager to function in his professional position. He asked all council to vote their conscience 3. ANY APPROPRIATE ACTION TO BE TAKEN AS A RESULT OF THE EXECUTIVE SESSION Motion to terminate the City Manager on grounds of erosion of public trust and betrayal of the Charter he has been entrusted with - Lynch; Second - Burchard Councilman Marks asked which section of the Charter had been violated. Councilman Lynch said there is in the Charter a section dealing with the ability to exercise his duties equally amongst all and he (Lynch) feels we have lost that and that we are at a cross roads and it is time to move on. Councilman Marks said then the City Manager hasn't really violated the Charter. Councilman Lynch said he would amend his motion. Amended motion to terminate William Hall as City Manager of the City of The Colony - Lynch; Second - Burchard Mayor Manning said this is a very important vote, explaining that a yes vote means you are for the termination. Motion failed with the, following vote: Lynch - Aye; Sharp - No; Therio - No; Burchard - Aye; Gomez - No; Marks - No; Manning - No Bill Hall said he appreciates very much the support. He said he apologizes to those which he has offended personally or professionally. He said he never had any intention to embarrass this city. Going on, Mr. Hall said he understands Councilmen Lynch's and Burchard's position, but he does not feel anything that has happened will or has effected his job and that he will continue to the the job that most of the Council feel he is capapble of doing. 10:25 Mayor Manning called a ten minute recess. 10:35 Reconvened 5. PRESENTATION OF EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION AWARDS Mr. Hall read the names of those who will be receiving recognition awards: Beverly Nopp and Van Morrison l0 year watch Jonathan Pett. y 8 year pin Dave Wallace, Dian~e Baxter, Chuck Baker~ Clyde Chantrill, and Steve Wiser - 5 year key chain Sandie Chance and David Rolbiecki - 2 year certificate Present to receive their awa~dS.,were Mssrs. Morrison, Chantrill and Rolbiecki. 6. MAYORAL PROCLAMATION DECLARING TEXAS PHARMACY WEEK Mayor Manning read the proclamation as follows: WHEREAS, t.he ~ .sophistication of health care in the United States enhances the quality of life for every man, woman, and child; and WHEREAS, an integral part of quality health care includes drug therapy which is increasingly more sophisticated; and, WHEREAS, more than ]2,000 practicing pharmacists in Texas daily apply their five years or more training and education to dispense medications, to monitor prescriptions and non-prescription medications for the correct dosages as well as possible allergic and drug interactions; and WHEREAS, these professional pharmacists counsel patients to help assure the maximum benefits of both prescription and non- prescription medications; and, WHEREAS, public opinion polls consistently rank pharmacists among the most highly respected professionals for their unselfish gifts of time~ knowledge, and talent to advise the public on health concerns. NOW, THEREFORE, I, William W. Manning, Mayor of the City of The Colony, Texas,-do. hereby proclaim the week of October 20 - 26, 1991 as "PMARMACY-WEEK" in The Colony, Texas and urge all citizens to acknowledge and utilize the expertise of pharmacists in our city. 7. MAYORAL PROCLAMATION DECLARING NATIONAL BUSINESS WOMEN'S WEEK Mayor Mann.lng read the proclamation as follows: WHEREAS, working women constitute 50 percent of the Nation's working force, and are constantly striving to serve their communities, their states and their nation in civic cultural programs; and WHEREAS, major goals of business and professional women are to help create better conditions for business women through the study of social, educational, economic and political problems; to help them be of greater ~service ~to their community; to further friendship with women throughout the world; and 8 WHEREAS, all of us are proud of their leadership in these many fields of endeavor, NOW, THEREFORE, I,William W. Manning, Mayor of the Cit of The Colony, Texas do hereby proclaim the week of October 20 - 26, 199! as "NATIONAL BUSINESS WOMEN'S WEEK" and urge all citizens of The Colony, Texas, all civic and fraternal groups, all educational associations, all news media and other community organizations to join in this salute to working women by encouraging and promoting the celebrations of the achievements of all business and professional women as they contribute daily to our economic, civic and cultural purposes. Debra Boldin, president of the local chapter of Business and Professional Women accepted the proclamation and then read a statement on the legislative platform of the organization. 8. CONSENT AGENDA: Mayor Manning summarized the items on the consent agenda. A. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS HELD OCTOBER 7 AND 14, 1991 Motion to approve the minutes as written - Marks; Second - Gomez Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. B. CONSIDERATION OF ACCEPTANCE AND AWARD OF BIDS FOR BIO- MONITORING FRESHWATER TESTING OF EFFLUENT AND APPROVAL OF AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING CONTRACT FOR SAME Councilman Therio asked why staff recommended awarding the contracting to a vendor other than the low bidder, at a difference of $1500.00. Bill Hall said this is a very sensitive test and there is some concern over shipping the sample to Houston. The recommended company, Bio-Aquatic Laboratory is located in Carrollton. Motion to accept the bids and award the contract to Bio-Aquatic Laboratory, and to approve the ordinance authorizing the contract - Sharp; Second - Marks Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. C. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF TWO (2) CONTRACTS WITH METROCREST MEDICAL SERVICES FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION AND EMERGENCY SERVICES Motion to approve the contracts as written - Marks; Second - Gomez Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 9. CONSIDERATION OF ACCEPTANCE AND AWARD OF BIDS FOR REMOVAL AND DISPOSAL SLUDGE FROM HOLDING LAGOON AND APPROVAL OF AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING CONTRACT FOR SAME Mr. Hall ad, v,~se~the' 3 mil.lion gallon holding lagoon at the wastewater plant has been used since 1980 to hold sludge as well as the sludge drying ~:%~!ds,.~. :He 'said new EPA regulations require disposing of the sludg,'e. ,Mr.. Hall recommended taking the funds from the Stonebriar Fuads. Motion to 'accept the bids ,and award the contract to CDR Environmental, Inc. as recommended by staff - Gomez; Second - Sharp Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. Motion to table the remaining items on the agenda due to the late hour and to adjourn the meeting - Lynch; Second - Therio Mayor Manning advised that the cable television broadcast had been interrupted during the discussion regarding the City Manager and for the benefit of those watching at home, he summarized the action taken on that item. He said the cable had been off for about 10 - ]5 mi,nutes. Ken Wood, 5000 N Colony said he had been at home watching and that when the cable went off he spent about 20 minutes trying to call the Cable company. He said when he reached them, he was told by an agreement with the City, that if the broadcast became too controversial, then they would cease the broadcast. Councilman Therio advised the problem was a blown fuse and noted that the people in the office have no control over what is shown. Mayor Manning advised he knew nothing of any agreement. Larry Bryant with TCI Cable~Vision apo.,logized to those at home. He did say that late hour calls are forwarded to an office in another city and that they are not'~aware of what is shown in The Colony. Councilman Shar-p~ expressed pleasure that people were watching and Councilman Gomez said a special thanks to Councilman Therio for working with..the caibte company' t.o get the meetings on the air. Motion to table remaining items and adjourn the meeting carried with all members voting Aye. 10. FIRST READING OF AN .ORDINANCE AMENDING THE COMPREHENSIVE ZONING ORDINANCE BY AMENDING SECTION 17 RELATING TO LANDSCAPING Tabled DISCUSSION OF AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO WELLS Tabled 12. COUNCIL COMMITTEE REPORTS None lO 13. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT None Mayor Manning adjourned the meeting at 11:00 p.m. APPROVED: W~llzam W. Manning, May~ ATTEST: P'atti A. Hicks, CMC City Secretary ATTACHMENT "A"(1) October 21, 1991 Mr. Mayor: Once again we find ourselves in a controversy over whether or not a city official has committed an act worthy of removal from office. And again we find that all adversaries of said official have come out in support of one Common cause. A common cause rooted in hatred, malice, and greed. ' Some of these adversaries find it necessary to come forward so as to settle old scores, others find it necessary to pass judgement based on lies and innuendo, while others do it just to jump on a bandwagon. It Saddens me to see that even a few of this city's employees have resorted to this low and cheap behavior in an effort to get even with their city manager. On several occasions these adversaries have even gone to the extent of holding meetings so as to strategize on how to attack Mr. Hall's character in hopes of getting rid of him. Most recently such a meeting was held yesterday. How ironic that it was by invitation only and the one giving the invitations was the former police chief. Was this just ATTACHMENT "A" (2) an open house he was hosting or was it perhaps an axe grinding party? How come there --. were five councilmen left off of the invitation list? I assure you ladies and gentlemen before the night is over we will have a better understanding of this mess. Mayor, I am convinced beyond any doubt that our city manager's recent events in his personal, AND I EMPHASIZE "PERSONAL" life have no relevancy to his competency or ability to discharge the duties of that position. My heart goes out to Mr. Hall because no one deserves to go through the living hell that our city manager has had to face as a result of marital problems gone astray. Marital problems which are of no concern to this governing body nor those who are eager and quick to pass judgement. In recent meetings with Mr. Hall I have had the opportunity to gain insight as to the charges levied against him, his recent plea to those charges, and his reasons for doing so. It did not take me very long to realize that Mr. Hall made a prudent and economically sound decision in pleading guilty regardless of his alleged innocence. Judgement comes easy in these days of fast reporting and prolific media, without concern for the human life involved or mitigating circumstances. In the minds of some, headlines like "City Manager Pleads Guilty" have raised questions as to the TRUSTWORTHINESS of Mr. Hall (as described by Mr. Burchard in a channel 8 interview). I believe that prior to passing such judgement or making bold sweeping statements as Mr. Burchard has stated, one must examine the circumstances as .-. well as the system which drove Mr. Hall to enter such a plea. ATTACHMENT "A" (3) I'd like to go over some of those circumstances for the benefit of those who still have their doubts. BUT I WON'T. It is not my duty to apologize for Mr. Hall's actions. They were, after all, HIS actions, PERSONAL actions governing his PERSONAL life which in no way has relevance to his duties, professionalism, nor job performance. There are members of this council who will recall that in the past I have had disagreements with Mr. Hall on matters of policy. However, there is a difference between what is personal and professional. A distinction that needs to be kept in the forefront of any discussion pertaining to Mr. Hall and recent events in his life. To use this matter as a convenient vehicle for dismissal is immoral, foul and un professional. To those who oppose Mr. Hall, for whatever reason, I would invite you to find out who he is on your own, talk to Mr. Hall, see if you can honestly set aside the axe you grind long enough to talk to the man and not the position. Bill Hall has been a giving and productive member of this community for many years. One look in this room will tell you that he is loved and appreciated by many who know him not as the City Manager, but as Bill, the human being. I believe that our city manager has had to face an inordinate amount of humiliation and scrutiny at the hands of the media and at the hands of this forum so as to satisfy the curiosity and glee of those who oppose him. I believe that this man has had enough! A traffic ticket is a misdemeanor, Mr. Hall pleaded to a misdemeanor. Is this lynch mob so pious and clean that they could live by their own standards7 Are the opposing members of this city council so pristine as to be able to demand that Mr. Hall step down? ATTACHMENT "A"(4) The time has come to get back to the business of running this city in a progressive and effective manner which all of us can benefit from. One look around this city should be enough to see that there IS progress. This city is ALIVE with progress. Let us not play into the hands of those who beam with excitement at the thought of seeing our city manager destroyed for their pleasure so as to satisfy an old debt of hatred and revenge. This is not a Roman Coliseum. Mr. Lynch, you have no right to critique this man and ask for his resignation. Frankly sir, you have not been around enough to judge this man's conduct. I might point out that you have one of the worst attendance records in the history of this city council. Not having attended a single budget worksession, missing every fees committee meeting, most of the cable TV committee meetings, and holding the despicable record of missing over 40%, ALMOST HALF OF THE MEETINGS YEAR TO DATE! How can you judge Mr. Hall's character with such a record? Sir, you just have no right to do so. If anyone needs to leave it is you! You are not representing your constituency adequately. Mr. Burchard, you happen to hold the second worst attendance record having missed almost 1]3rd of all meetings and consistently arrive late, you also have no right to pass this judgement. I find it quite odd that other than the mayor, Mr. Burchard was the only one allegedly contacted by channel eight for an opinion on Mr. Hall. In fact Mr. Lynch was out of town and even HIS statement was printed in the Dallas Morning News. ATTACHMENT "A"(5) How odd that two of the least visible, absentee councilmembers wind up getting calls for statements. Or could it be that the city council's unwritten code of conduct which keeps executive sessions private may have been violated by one of these men? Gentlemen, I'd like to know, this city would like to know, and believe me, I intend to find out. Mayor, THE SHOW IS OVER! But like all shows there comes a time when the stage needs cleaning and the props need tearing down. That time is NOW. Last year our city manager took the initiative to make a management change in the police department. Said change brought about much controversy. In fact you might look into the audience tonight and notice that some of that controversy has .returned, HATCHET IN HAND, in hope of settling the score, in hope of a payback. Now, before I go any further I need to apologize to the majority of the officers of The Colony Police Department. These officers know who they are. They are true professionals. These officers are caring and dedicated individuals who on a daily basis demonstrate their courage and ability to do a job that only too often goes un noticed and un appreciated. I have a great respect fox these officers, and the following statement is in no way an indictment of their fine service, honesty, and patience. YES, AND PATIENCE, in tolerating and enduring years of humiliation, pet systems, and BOSS HOGG styles of management. The rest of the officers, and YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE, have participated in what ATTACHMENT "A" (6~: I consider to be some of the lowest forms of behavior for someone charged with upholding the law and protecting the public trust. Ladies and Gentlemen, YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE! I KNOW WHO YOU ARE! AND THIS CITY WILL SOON KNOW WHO YOU ARE! I promise you as sure as the sun will rise, that neither your badges or your pet systems will not protect you from the scrutiny and thoroughness of the criminal and ethics investigation I intend to propose. There are those who will say this is a witch hunt due to the recent involvement of the police department in the city manager's personal affairs. I say that it is NOT! In recent weeks I have heard countless hours of testimony from many sources, official and private, which allege that certain officers, former officers, citizens, and councllmembers, have conspired and colluded in an effort to cause Mr. Hall's dismissal and destroy a career he has dedicated his life to and worked so hard for. In other instances there have been allegations of police brutality, verbal abuse, professional job harassment, coverups, abuse of power, misuse of city property, and others which bring me to the conclusion that indeed the props need tearing down, and the stage scrubbed clean. Mr. Mayor, this is not a witch hunt, it is a hunt for predators. Predators of the worst kind, the kind in sheep's clothing, the kind you entrust with public service only to find out that they only serve themselves and hide behind a badge. ATTACHMENT "A" (7) This evening I wish to call upon those officers who I am speaking of to resign! YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE! Save yourselves the humiliation of public discovery and do the right thing, leave! Mayor, the time has come to once and for all to identify those who cannot be trusted in the public service and escort them to the door. This evening I am requesting that two investigations be launched. The purpose of which is to discover if criminal and or ethical misconduct has taken place in The Colony Police Department. I am requesting that tonight a resolution be adopted so that an outside law enforcement agency be brought in to conduct a criminal investigation of The Colony Police Department, and report itts findings to this city council and county prosecutor, and that a council committee be appointed to conduct a thorough ethics investigation, report it's findings, and recommend proper disciplinary action to this city council. We cannot go on business as usual with a Police Department falling apart at the seams and a management team watching it happen. We owe it to our citizens, we must act accordingly. In closing Itd like to mention that last evening I received a call from a woman who identified herself as a constituent. She went on to say that she was opposed to Mr. Hall, that she wanted me to vote against him, that due to recent events, women's issues were in the forefront, and that I should consider that when voting. Furthermore, she elaborated that there were a great number of women registered voters in this city who would watch ATTACHMENT "A" (8) how I voted and urged me to do the politically correct thing and vote against Mr. Hall. I thought about that conversation afterwards and realized that I was not just being lobbied by a constituent. Instead, an alleged constituent attempted to extort a vote out of me by threatening me with her influence and that of all women at the polls. I recognize and respect the women voters of this city. Without their vote I probably Would not be here tonight. However, I have my doubts as to whether or not this person represented all women in this community. I'd like to go on record as saying that I give Mr. Hall my vote of confidence. I will back this man one hundred percent until such time that he fails me professionally in the performance of his duties. This is NOT an issue about women, women's rights, or which gender controls the most votes. This is issue is one of a personal divorce that turned into a soap opera, and frankly I do not want to tune in. Furthermore, it's none of my business. If this action costs me any votes at the polls come next spring then so be it! The fact of the matter is that I have to live with my conscience and at this time it is telling me that Mr. Hall deserves to keep his job. In the mean time I will do my job and discharge those duties to the best of my abilities and judgement. THAT IS WHAT I WAS ELECTED TO DO! If my constituency ._. wants a spineless wimp who cannot make difficult decisions, then I best not be re elected ATTACHMENT "A"(9) because I am neither spineless, nor wimpy. I have not and will not succumb to a handful of people who wish to use the voting booth as a weapon to manipulate my vote so as to satisfy their need for blood. Thank You Mr. Mayor for allotting me the time to read this statement. Lou Gomez Councilman, Place 5