The nugget., May 25, 2016, Page 16, Image 16

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Wednesday, May 25, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
ATTORNEY: Council
is seeking new
legal counsel
Continued from page 1
that,” Allen told The Nugget.
“I have notified the firm that
we would like to work toward
ending the relationship and
are hoping for a smooth
transition.”
At their meeting last week,
Council discussed several
issues regarding Bryant’s
role as City Attorney. There
have been complaints from
City employees and Council
members that they have not
been getting timely responses
to inquiries made to Bryant’s
office. One such instance had
to do with a Memorandum of
Understanding regarding the
Economic Development Loan
Program.
The most recent issue
had to do with discussions
and negotiations by Council
regarding complaints against
then-City Manager Andrew
Gorayeb. Council relied heav-
ily on Bryant’s knowledge,
expertise, and advice on per-
sonnel issues in order to avoid
litigation and/or the release
of the investigator’s report.
When several public records
requests were made for the
report, District Attorney John
Hummel rejected Bryant’s
arguments against disclosure
and ordered its release.
In a council meeting
on May 12, Bryant recom-
mended that the City appeal
the order.
“There were represen-
tations to both the City
Manager and the staff that the
City Council would use their
best efforts to keep the report
confidential,” Bryant told the
Council.
He said that, in his view,
that meant at least making
an appeal to the circuit court.
The Council elected to com-
ply with the DA’s order and
released the report as a public
record.
Council had specified that
all names except Gorayeb’s
would be removed before
the report went public. The
redacted copy of the investi-
gator’s report was released by
Bryant’s office on Monday
evening, May 16. After copies
had been provided to the par-
ties who made public records
requests to the City, it was
discovered there were more
than 20 times when a needed
redaction had not been made.
A number of employees
were distressed by the many
errors in redacting. Later the
next day the City received a
corrected copy from Bryant’s
office. Up through last
Friday, no one at the City had
been contacted directly by
Bryant with an apology or an
explanation.
In another long-running
and complex issue, the City’s
respondent brief that was
filed with the State Land Use
Board of Appeals (LUBA)
regarding McKenzie Meadow
Village (MMV) senior-living
facility was missing one key
component and another was
not labeled or located where it
should have been. According
to the LUBA Final Opinion
and Order of April 11, 2016,
there were four assignments
of error cited by the attorney
for Pinnacle Alliance Group,
a rival senior-living facility
developer.
LUBA denied the first
assignment of error, meaning
the City was correct in their
argument. Findings in the
second assignment of error
included:
“The 1,666-page record in
this appeal does not include a
separate listing in the table of
contents for the city council
decision that is the subject of
this appeal.” In other words,
the LUBA Board members
reviewing the City’s response
had to search through 1,666
pages to find the Council’s
two-page decision.
When they did find it, the
decision included the follow-
ing statement:
“The findings of fact in
this matter are located in the
staff report, incorporated
herein as Exhibit A.”
On the next page, the
decision lists “exhibits and
conditions of approval,”
which included “Exhibit A –
Staff Report.”
None of the two-page City
Council decisions that appear
in the record have a staff
report attached, much less
one that is labeled “Exhibit
A.” The only staff reports
in the entire record that are
labeled “Exhibit A” have to
do with the 2010 McKenzie
Meadow Village master plan
and the 2012 modified master
plan.
Neither of two other staff
reports, either of which might
have been the one the Council
meant to adopt as the find-
ings to support its decision,
is labeled “Exhibit A,” or
“attached to, or even in partic-
ularly close proximity to, one
of the two-page city council
decisions in the record.”
The board’s decision
on the second assignment
of error required LUBA to
remand, due to no Exhibit A.
The City Council now must
clearly identify the findings
it intended to adopt. Because
of the remand on the second
assignment of error, it was
unnecessary for LUBA to
address Pinnacle’s other two
assignments of error.
LUBA did, however, dis-
cuss those assignments of
error, to clarify some of the
issues the City Council may
need to address on remand.
They clearly spelled out
exactly what issues should be
addressed by Council, which
will require careful and cor-
rect legal advice.
There is still a third appeal
by Pinnacle regarding MMV
yet to be heard by LUBA.
The City of Sisters is
soliciting requests for pro-
posals for City Attorney ser-
vices. The City is willing
to consider proposals from
legal firms or individuals.
For more information email
at knelson@ci.sisters.or.us or
call 541-323-5213.
Dr. Thomas R. Rheuben
General, Cosmetic, Implant
and Family Dentistry
~ Over 22 years Serving Sisters ~
We are preferred providers for Delta Dental PPO and Premier,
MODA, Advantage, Pacifi c Source, Cigna and the V.A.
541-549-0109
|
304 W. Adams Ave.
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Sisters
THANK YOU, SISTERS!
,
U
O
Y
K
N
A
H
T
!
S
R
E
T
S
I
S
We are grateful for – and humbled by – the people of
Sisters who have expressed their desire to make a long-
term investment in our schools and our community.
The current state school funding realities create strong
headwinds for Oregon schools, but this victory shows
that Sisters will overcome these challenges.
Also, we respect the community members who voted
no on this bond. We must focus on investing this money
wisely and ensuring the “return” is felt by everyone in
Sisters. A few years from now, our hope is that everyone in
Sisters will feel this was a great outcome.
We are inspired by the strategic direction that the
Sisters School District Board, Administrators and
Educators are setting for our community. With this victory
comes a responsibility to execute the plans put before
the voters to the best of your abilities. We have total
confi dence in you and look forward to the journey ahead
in partnership with you.
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