DeKalb City Clerk alleges possible Open Meetings Act violation against City Council

Procedure for line item in question dealt with use of TIF funds for necessary fire headquarters renovations

As the new sign says above the door, the Nehring building at 164 E. Lincoln Highway is now DeKalb City Hall.

DeKALB – DeKalb’s city clerk is alleging that the City Council violated the Open Meetings Act during a March 22 meeting and the council improperly voted on the use of tax increment financing funds, while other city officials say the measure, to renovate the fire station, was an “actionable one.”

DeKalb City Clerk Lynn Fazekas wrote in a March 31 request for review of possible Open Meetings Act violations against the City of DeKalb that the city generally uses the “considerations” part of the regular City Council meeting for discussion-only items. She said the public would not expect the City Council to take action on line items during that part of the meeting – this instance being a contract with Gehrke Construction for the repair and remodeling of DeKalb Fire Station One, a 51-year-old building with many original water pipes and electrical wiring still in place, for $139,205.

“In view of legislative intent and prior use of ‘Considerations,’ along with the absence of the form and language of resolutions, I conclude that a reasonable person would not have known by looking at the agenda that Council intended to vote to award these contracts on March 22,” Fazekas wrote in the request for review. “And I include myself as clerk.”

Fazekas also wrote the city broke from normal practice by not providing formal resolutions in the meeting agenda to approve the contract. She said during the March 22 meeting she believed the council has voted on considerations as actionable items in the past because the council decided it was before voting on the matter.

DeKalb City Manager Bill Nicklas said during the March 22 meeting the City has money allocated in its TIF 1 budget for the renovations and to replace a 30 year old diesel fire vehicle exhaust venting system, which the council also approved March 22.

“Things wear out,” Nicklas said. “We’ve repaired this system about as much as we can and it’s essential that we have this working. We really don’t want our firefighter paramedics in the apparatus area if we can’t have this working.”

Nicklas said Gehrke was the lowest bidder for the proposed project.

“And so we are recommending approval to you,” Nicklas told the City Council during the meeting.

Council meeting footage showed there was no additional discussion from aldermen regarding the agenda line item itself. However, when DeKalb Mayor Jerry Smith requested a roll call vote on the item, Fazekas told the mayor she didn’t believe it was an actionable item due to it being listed as a “consideration” on the agenda.

“It’s an actionable item,” Nicklas said. “Consideration of bids, Mayor, is an actionable item.”

DeKalb City Attorney John Donahue said during the March 22 meeting he agreed with Nicklas.

“It is on the agenda,” Donahue said. “You are free to take an action on, really, any matter that’s on the agenda, as your discretion would so dictate. So I think it’s on the agenda, it’s described in great detail and it’s certainly available for the council to vote on.”

Smith then asked aldermen whether they felt it was appropriate to vote on the matter as a consideration and, after he saw aldermen nod in agreement, asked Fazekas for a roll call vote.

Fire Station One renovations, detailed

DeKalb Fire Chief Jeff McMaster said on Friday the renovations that the council approved are going to address a lot of structural needs for the building built in 1971. He said a lot of the building has remained untouched, aside from some carpet replacement, and there are things like the plumbing system, showers that leak into the administrative offices and energy-saving lighting that need to be fixed.

“It’s still cast iron, it’s rusted through and if you can imagine a lot of obnoxious smells seem to permeate the living spaces of this building,” McMaster said. “So that creates an issue.”

McMaster said it’s important for firefighters to have quality living conditions at the fire department headquarters so they can best serve the public. He said the conditions he previously described aren’t good for business, nor health and safety.

“A lot of these issues are going to be addressed,” McMaster said.

McMaster said the renovation timelines are still unclear and fire officials are waiting to hear from contractors. He said the hope is for the work to start in the next month.

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