What Properties Are City Council Purchasing and Selling?

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marklingm
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What Properties Are City Council Purchasing and Selling?

Post by marklingm »

From City Hall:


From: Hagan, Mary [mailto:Mary.Hagan@lakewoodoh.net]
Sent: Thursday, June 18, 2015 2:51 PM
To: Hagan, Mary
Subject: C.O.W. 6/22/15

Issued 6/18/15

NOTICE
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

The Committee of the Whole will meet Monday, June 22, 2015, at 6:30 PM. in the Council Conference Room, Lakewood City Hall, 12650 Detroit Avenue, Lakewood, Ohio. The agenda is as follows:

General conversation about the Letter of Intent submitted to Council by the Lakewood Hospital Association (LHA), the Lakewood Hospital Foundation (LHF), and Cleveland Clinic (referred 1/20/15), including the potential purchase of property and/or sale of real or personal property by competitive bid if disclosure of the information would result in a competitive advantage to the person whose personal, private interest is adverse to the general public interest. A motion to enter executive session will likely be made.

Mary Louise Madigan, Chair
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE



R.C. 121.22(G)(2) only allows City Council to enter into executive session for the following purpose:


To consider the purchase of property for public purposes, or for the sale of property at competitive bidding, if premature disclosure of information would give an unfair competitive or bargaining advantage to a person whose personal, private interest is adverse to the general public interest. No member of a public body shall use division (G)(2) of this section as a subterfuge for providing covert information to prospective buyers or sellers. A purchase or sale of public property is void if the seller or buyer of the public property has received covert information from a member of a public body that has not been disclosed to the general public in sufficient time for other prospective buyers and sellers to prepare and submit offers.

If the minutes of the public body show that all meetings and deliberations of the public body have been conducted in compliance with this section, any instrument executed by the public body purporting to convey, lease, or otherwise dispose of any right, title, or interest in any public property shall be conclusively presumed to have been executed in compliance with this section insofar as title or other interest of any bona fide purchasers, lessees, or transferees of the property is concerned.

http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/121.22



I'm not convinced that City Council has ever been going into executive session properly but, then again, I'm also not aware of the sale of any city property by competitive bid ... nor the purchase of any property.

Perhaps someone will enlighten us?
Brian Essi
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Re: What Properties Are City Council Purchasing and Selling?

Post by Brian Essi »

This is "gifting" of public property and real estate by "competitive ignorance and dishonesty" the disclosure of this would put the candidates running against Madigan at an advantage.
David Anderson has no legitimate answers
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marklingm
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Re: What Properties Are City Council Purchasing and Selling?

Post by marklingm »

Today, at 10:20 a.m., I sent the following email to City Council Members:


From: Matt Markling [mailto:mmarkling@mcgownmarkling.com]
Sent: Friday, June 19, 2015 10:20 AM
To: Anderson, David; O'Leary, Sam; Juris, Shawn; Madigan, Mary; Bullock, Tom; Marx, Cynthia; Nowlin, Ryan
Cc: Mayor's Office; Summers, Mike; Butler, Kevin
Subject: Possible Sunshine Law Violations

Dear City Council Members,

I do not believe that you have always been recessing into executive session properly since Kevin Butler took over as your law director.

For a most recent example, I direct your attention to http://www.lakewoodobserver.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=13497. As stated in my post, there may be a valid competitive bid sale or purchase that the public simply does not know about yet … which begs the question – Why does the public not know about this valid competitive bid sale or purchase? Would you kindly share the nature of this valid competitive bid sale or purchase with me so that I may share the same with our residents? Of course, posting the answer(s) on The Observation Deck yourselves would even be better.

I note that you are all responsible for knowing and complying with the Ohio Sunshine Laws.

“The Ohio Sunshine Laws – An Open Government Resource Manual” is a wonderful educational tool. The 2015 Sunshine Law Manual can be found at http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/getattachment/bc3c1628-4278-46db-9a17-18b1152dad80/2015-Sunshine-Laws-Manual.aspx.

Thank you.

Matt



Today, at 11:49 a.m., Law Director Kevin Butler responded as follows:


From: Butler, Kevin [mailto:Kevin.Butler@lakewoodoh.net]
Sent: Friday, June 19, 2015 11:49 AM
To: Matt Markling
Cc: Mayor's Office; Summers, Mike; Anderson, David; O'Leary, Sam; Juris, Shawn; Madigan, Mary; Bullock, Tom; Marx, Cynthia; Nowlin, Ryan
Subject: RE: Possible Sunshine Law Violations

Mr. Markling,

Thank you for your email. Council’s deliberations regarding the proposal before it on healthcare in Lakewood involve discussions on the competitive sale of property, the purchase of real or personal property, and pending court action. Each motion to enter into executive session has been appropriate, and each such session has been conducted in accordance with the law.

Best wishes,

Kevin M. Butler, Director of Law
City of Lakewood | Law Department
(216) 529-6034
kevin.butler@lakewoodoh.net
Lori Allen _
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Re: What Properties Are City Council Purchasing and Selling?

Post by Lori Allen _ »

When Ms. Madigan, Council President, makes a motion to go into executive session, any other member of council can vote "no". I don't recall any council member ever voting "no" to go into executive session. In my opinion, that makes them all guilty. In my opinion, the consultant from Huron Consulting and the outside attorney should not have been stuck into executive session together. If council is discussing lawsuit strategies, then that's one thing. However, I do not feel that an attorney needs to be sitting in with a consulting firm. The people that should be sitting in with the consultant should be the citizens of Lakewood who pay the taxes (they should not be shut out like council loves to do).

I think it is a shame that we have a law department at City Hall that apparently is incapable of handling anything legal and that must rely on our money to hire outside attorneys to do their jobs. Perhaps this is because our city attorneys are too busy handling the countless lawsuits that the city just happens to keep finding themselves in.
m buckley
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Re: What Properties Are City Council Purchasing and Selling?

Post by m buckley »

Lori, I couldn't agree with you more. As improbable as it sounds Ms. Madigan is running a shadow government out in the open. City Council now convenes for the obligatory City Council meeting (in front of the public) and once that formality has been addressed, it's off to the backroom to wheel and deal beyond earshot. They are making a mockery of the principle of transparency in government.
" City Council is a 7-member communications army." Colin McEwen December 10, 2015.
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Jim O'Bryan
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Re: What Properties Are City Council Purchasing and Selling?

Post by Jim O'Bryan »

Lori

I would think you are correct on the rest of council. Like if you get caught in a stolen car
and someone else stole it or is driving it.

This is the sad part, lots of good meaning people going to end up getting dirty on this.

Matt Markling is the expert on Sunshine Laws and Government laws, and I know he believes
the "Executive Session" is only applicable for the direct conversation of the bidding process.

Nothing else is. I would go by his reading of this.

.
Jim O'Bryan
Lakewood Resident

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Bridget Conant
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Re: What Properties Are City Council Purchasing and Selling?

Post by Bridget Conant »

What recourse do citizens have if Sunshine laws are violated?
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