During the May 28 regular session of the Indianola Board of Aldermen, a question about a docket item to reimburse Mayor Steve Rosenthal $1,231.53 lit a heated discussion between Alderman Sam Brock and Rosenthal. In the end the aldermen voted 4 to 1 to approve the docket with Brock casting the no vote.
After that discussion and vote, Brock said he wanted to make a motion to withhold a $314.69 portion of the reimbursement to Rosenthal until they could get “further evidence” that Rosenthal had placed the lights where he said they were intended. Rosenthal had explained that the lights were for the park area downtown.
Brock’s announcement of his intended motion sparked an exchange wherein Rosenthal told Brock he could come to city hall to see that he had the lights. “No, you said in the park,” Brock said. “You asked where they were going,” Rosenthal asserted.
Brock maintained that Rosenthal said the lights were already in the park and added, “(Just) so you don’t be sticking stuff Mayor, then thinking ain't nobody paying attention, lets go on, Brock said. So, no formal motion was made, no second was voiced and no vote was called.
Brock had begun by questioning why the city had to repay Rosenthal. He took particular issue with the lights purchase. “Now listen to my question, I want to know where you placed lights,” Brock asked.
Then continuing his line of interrogation he asked about several other items that he said were on the invoices in front of him including water bags, meter readers and a set of microphones.
Brock also asked about a $567 repayment for hotel expenses. “And I didn’t see no receipts in here,” Brock said. “There are absolutely receipts, that’s a lie,” said Rosenthal. And Brock responded, “You’re another lie.” Rosenthal then asked the city clerk to show Brock the receipts.
“Mr. Brock, as I explained to you, she brings every receipt to every meeting,” Rosenthal said. With that, Brock stated that the clerk must not have given the receipts to Rosenthal’s secretary. “Because I’ve got it right here where it was written in hand, $567 okay, we ain't gone argue about that Mr. Mayor,” said Brock.
However, Brock did express his intent to contend the purchase of the lights for the park. “I didn’t see no lights down there in that green space,” he said. But as Rosenthal began to explain, Brock interrupted, “Now you want to lie about it, come on.”
With that remark, Rosenthal told Brock he didn’t deserve an explanation. “Well, you don’t deserve to be paid either,” said Brock, “These are the citizens’ money, this is not Sam Brock’s money. We can’t be reimbursing you on something you don’t have receipts and stuff for,” Brock continued.
Rosenthal insistently asserted that the proof was there. “She’s got the receipts,” he said. “You ask for the receipts, our city clerk maintains those receipts and she’ll be glad to give them to you,” Rosenthal explained that to be the protocol.
On more than one occasion during the discussion Brock insisted that he and Rosenthal were not going to bicker and Rosenthal agreed. “But you ain't gone be calling me no lie and I can’t call you no lie, because I’m just as grown as you are,” Brock said.
With the receipts in hand, Brock asked City Clerk Lashanda Moore, “Who wrote that?” Moore replied that it was Rosenthal, however Rosenthal explained that he only totaled up the amounts. When Brock asked for the actual documents from the hotel, Moore explained that what he was holding were the receipts from the hotel.
“All of those are from the hotel Mr. Brock. Look at them. Those are from the hotel. I wrote the description as to what it was, you look at the receipt, if you would look at it you would understand it,” said Rosenthal.
Brock then insisted that the documents should have contained the mayor’s signature. Brock insisted, “We know what we’re doing.” Rosenthal rebutted, “Obviously you don’t.”
As for Brock’s other queries, Rosenthal responded that the watering bags were for the trees in the community garden and the two meter-reading devices, which were purchased for less than $80 on EBay, were bought to replace one that the city had that was in need of repair and according to Rosenthal would have cost $1,500 to fix.
As for the microphones, Rosenthal simply tapped on the system that was on the table in front of them. “Mr. Mayor this should have been paid six months ago, and you’re just now bringing this up, I’m really stunned Mr. Mayor at you,” said Brock. Rosenthal expressed to Brock that he should instead be grateful that he allowed him to “borrow” the money for all this length of time.”
In other business,
City Engineer Ron Cassada opened two bids that were received for this year’s airport runway rehabilitation project and since each of the bids were over the engineering estimate of $201,000, the city leaders voted to accept the lowest bid contingent upon the available FAA funds.
Cassada said the aviation administration has additional funds so the city had two options, to take it under advisement and check with FAA to see if it is awardable or award the bid contingent upon FAA approval and the accuracy of the math.
Sunbelt Sealing’s bid was $254,030 and Gregory Construction proposed $274,085.
