Council hears more options on contracts

An attempt to reconsider the land contracts with two landowners for a well field north of McCook hit a snag Tuesday night, but the fight isn't over.

After the council left a 20-minute executive session, Chris Miller of Miller & Associates asked it to change specifications of the request for proposal to include only well drillers with municipal well field experience. The council asked city administrators to include the request on the next council meeting agenda.

Following Miller's brief presentation, Mayor Jerda Garey made a motion to reconsider the land contracts for the northern water well field. The motion was seconded by Phil Lyons.

Dick Trail called for a point of order, asserting that motions to reconsider must be made and seconded by council members who had voted in the affirmative on the item being reconsidered. Lyons voted against accepting the contracts at the last regular council meeting.

After a brief recess, City Attorney Daylene Bennett returned and told the council that according to Robert's Rules of Order, a motion to reconsider had to be made by a person voting in the affirmative; however it could be seconded by any board member.

But, she explained, according to Robert's Rules the council may not vote to reconsider an affirmative vote in the nature of a contract, when the other party to the contract has been notified of the vote. The city has paid the two landowners $11,000 for water conservation easements.

Councilman Phil Lyons argued that the city has 10 days after an ordinance is published. For items subject to a limited referendum, which includes the contracts, he argues, the contracts ordinarily take effect 30 days after passage of the governing body. "In my opinion the contract would not take effect until 30 days after it passed. We have 30 days to rescind an ordinance and therefore the contracts could be reconsidered," Lyons said.

"You're talking apples and oranges," Bennett told him. The motion to reconsider is a procedural issue that she said the city couldn't reconsider under the Rules of Order, while the ordinance issue is a legal issue, she said.

Lyons argues that Nebraska Statutes always take precedence over Robert's Rules.

Bennett told the council it had three options to halt the progress of the development of a northern well field. It can either not accept the bids from the well drillers, cancel the engineering contracts after 30 days, or order the engineers not to proceed.

The council will take these options into consideration at its regular meeting, Monday, 7:30 p.m., in the Council Chambers at the McCook Auditorium.