HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-15-2005 Special Meeting Minutes L
Minutes of the Special Meeting of the
CITY OF OCOEE GENERAL EMPLOYEES PENSION BOARD
Held on April 15, 2005
In the Commission Chambers Conference Room in City Hall
At 150 N. Lakeshore Drive
Ocoee, FL 34761
Vice Chairperson Mary Anne Swickerath called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m.
Secretary Jean Grafton called the roll. Trustees Mary Anne Swickerath,Jean
Grafton and Thomas Hendrix were present, constituting a quorum. Also in attendance
were City Clerk Beth Eikenberry,Russ Wagner, and Jo Ann Lacey, Recording Secretary
of the meeting. Seven City of Ocoee General Employees joined the meeting during its
process.
Following roll call it was noted that the Trustees in attendance were presently the only
ones on the Board,that two other positions were currently vacant,therefore, any decision
made at this meeting would need unanimous approval.
Secretary Grafton suggested that background regarding the reasons for this meeting
should be related to Trustee Hendrix as he had been absent from the meeting held on
March 16, 2005. A verbatim transcript of the portion of the meeting regarding the
election certification and vote was provided for his information and Vice Chairperson
Swickerath explained that there had been a vote of two for, one against, certification of
the election which had been held to fill the seat vacated by Jerry Sauerwein. She reported
that she had made a motion to certify the election and it was seconded by Trustee
Grafton. At that time Chairperson Bishop called for a vote and both she and Trustee
Grafton voted for the certification and Chairperson Bishop voted against. She reported
that because it required three votes for the election to be certified,they were not able to
do so. At that time, direction was made to the City Clerk to begin the process of running
another election.
Vice Chairperson Swickerath asked for any questions or comments. Russ Wagner
stated that the City Clerk had indicated that another election should be held. He said he
felt that would be unfair as he had been voted in by an overwhelming majority of the
votes cast which made it the will of the people. He added that he did not think the
Pension Board attorney had given good direction and that he felt there were not sufficient
grounds to not certify,that unless it had been handled improperly the Board had no
choice in certifying the election. He also reported that he had sent a letter of protest to
the certification action taken by the Board to former Chairperson Bishop. He also
indicated that he had made several attempts to contact the Board attorney to no avail. He
was advised that Attorney Dehner had been away on vacation.
City Clerk Beth Eikenberry indicated that her office had election ballots prepared for the
election which were to be distributed with the payroll of March 31, however,upon
learning of the protest from Mr. Wagner,postponed that election until she could get a
decision from the Board. An email was sent to former Chairperson Bishop to advise of
this delay. Trustee Grafton advised that she and the other Trustees were not aware of
any of this until they contacted the City Clerk's office to find out the results of the new
election. Following a brief discussion, it was on motion made by Trustee Grafton, and
seconded by Trustee Hendrix, unanimously
RESOLVED that the results of the previous election be
certified as presented and that Russ Wagner would be an official Board
Member until the termination date of September 30,2005. It was further
resolved that the directions to the City Clerk to conduct another election
during the meeting of March 16,2005 were hereby rescinded.
Following the vote,new Trustee Russ Wagner was welcomed to the Board.
There was a general discussion regarding whether it would be necessary for the Board to
issue a directive to the City Clerk to hold an election to fill the position vacated by former
Trustee Ed Bishop. It was determined that would not be necessary,that the election
would be handled automatically according to the official Rules and Regulations. The
City Clerk was asked if this election could be completed by the next meeting which is
scheduled for May 11, 2005. She said she would begin the procedure immediately.
tir Vice Chairperson Swickerath asked if there were any additional comments. Trustee
Wagner commented that there was an obvious lack of communication and that he hoped
to see that corrected. The other Trustees indicated their agreement.
There being no other business,the meeting was adjourned at 1:12 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Jo Ann Lacey,
Recording Secretary of the Meeting
„altu:eify4W--4
Approv`/.y:
Mary Swickerath, Vice Chairperson
L