There was an issue with getting all of the minutes from previous meetings approved during Monday night's Indianola Board of Aldermen meeting, which featured a combined agenda because, of late, the city leaders have been experiencing some difficulty in coming together to vote on items due to a lack of a quorum.
At the onset of the session, Mayor Steve Rosenthal presented minutes for the June 22 meeting and the July 13 session that ended after only about 5 minutes when three of the aldermen announced that they were leaving, which forced that meeting to end due to lack of a quorum.
The minutes for the June 22 session were approved on a 3-2 vote with Aldermen Gary Fratesi and Sam Brock both abstaining. Fratesi said he no longer had the copies of his materials from that session and Brock did not offer up a reason.
When it came time to approve the July 13 minutes, Alderman Ruben Woods first established that he did not have a copy of those minutes. Woods then questioned how they could have minutes from the July 13 meeting when nothing was discussed.
The aldermen gathered on July 13 and when it was determined that a discussion on an insurance proposal from Collier Insurance was not included on the agenda, a motion was made to add it, it was passed 3-2, but Mayor Steve Rosenthal announced a veto to deny it and the three aldermen announced their intent to leave and the meeting ended.
Rosenthal addressed Woods’ concern. "The meeting was opened, it was called to order and then it was closed because of loss of a quorum," he said.
Alderman Marvin Elder evidently had his copy because he requested a correction. Elder referenced an included statement that said Alderman Gary Fratesi lost internet connection during that session. “Let's correct that by saying for unknown reasons because in the past when the other aldermen's lost connections, it was always implied that we had reasons besides internet connection, so going forward we will just say for unknown reasons,” Elder said.
With that, Woods said, "I'm inclined to believe that somebody cut me off in the middle of a discussion at the call meeting when you all approved for that insurance. That was kind of mysterious. And then, before I could get back on, you all hurried up and voted."
Rosenthal then asserted that they had counted Woods as voting for the proposal and offered him an opportunity to change his vote. "How can I change my vote when I wasn't even on the meeting?" he said.
Fratesi then pointed out that the discussion had gotten sidetracked from approving the minutes. Rosenthal agreed and called for a motion to approve the July 13 minutes with the one change that Elder proposed.
Alderman Darrell Simpson then asked if they were only approving the vote that was taken and the remark that Rosenthal made regarding his intent to veto the addition of the insurance discussion to the agenda.
And at that point Woods spoke up again and questioned Rosenthal’s ability to veto an item being added to the agenda. Rosenthal asserted that he had that power and that he only needed to follow up with his intended veto in writing. So, Woods questioned whether or not he had done that and according to Rosenthal, he has 10 days from the day that the minutes are presented and since they were just being presented, he now has 10 days in order to file his veto.
Addressing Attorney Kim Merchant, Woods asked for a legal opinion.
"First of all, this is moot simply because the nature of what was trying to be added is on the agenda for tonight. But, for clarification sakes, the mayor has the authority to veto ordinances (and) measures only and so technically no, you do not have the authority to veto an item from being added,” Merchant said.
Fratesi quickly expressed his disagreement with Merchant’s statement and Merchant responded that she has an Attorney General's opinion and the law to back it up. "But it’s always interesting when… Gary, you want to agree with me when it allows what you believe, but when I tell you something that does not agree with you…"
Fratesi interrupted. "Naw, you're dead wrong. Lady, you're wrong and I don't appreciate what you said. Merchant corrected him. “It's Miss Merchant and it's true."
With that, Rosenthal then called for the meeting to proceed. Woods then hurled an accusation at Rosenthal.
“You screwed the whole meeting up. You would think you would know better by now Mayor. You would know better that you couldn't veto that. I knew that, I knew that mayor,” Woods said.
Rosenthal returned, “Well, if y'all knew then, why did y'all say y'all were getting off? All three of y'all said, if you're doing that, we are getting off and you did so.”
That ended the attempt to approve those minutes. “So again, we’ll move forward. We won’t approve these minutes and we'll go to the next item,” Rosenthal said.
Merchant followed up by encouraging them to contact the attorney general’s office if ever they disagree with her findings because the service is free.
Fratesi made mention of prior city administrations where vetoes were handed down and carried out without being questioned. "So we've either done it wrong in the past or, we need to figure out what's going on because I was just going by what's been done over the past twenty something years,” he said.
In other business,
Mary Ann Griffin, director of Sunflower County Library Systems presented her annual report and budget for the 2021 fiscal year. She outlined the services that are still available at the library because it is open to the public by appointment. Persons can call or email to set up an appointment, she said.
She also stated that meeting rooms are available but will require social distancing with no more than 10 people in the room. The library can host virtual sessions for those who need it and Wi-Fi is available outside of the library on the side streets and parking lot for those who need it.
No login, password or ID is required. They are also currently hosting some on-site library programs for children at the Henry M. Seymour Library.
Fratesi suggested to Rosenthal that the city also look into installing an enhanced Wi-Fi signal at various locations across the city and the Bethune Center to possibly accommodate residents in that area.
