Tuesday, Nov. 24 2009 3:08PM
Lack of quorum handcuffs Greenwood BOA
John Beaudoin, Journal Publisher
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ReprintThe Greenwood Board of Aldermen’s failure to appoint a fourth member to the board has again cost them a meeting.
Alderman Jim Van Acker attended the closed portion of the meeting to discuss the city’s 2008-09 audit, but then left the meeting for personal reasons. After that happened, the BOA was left without the proper quorum to continue, thus forcing Mayor Rich DeCourcy to cancel the meeting.
This is the third time in as many months that Greenwood’s Board of Aldermen was unable to carry out a regularly scheduled meeting. Previously, Aldermen Jim Payne and Sara Ring have left before the conclusion of the meeting for various reasons, forcing the immediate end to the proceedings.
Among the topics the board was to tackle Nov. 23 included payment of bills – including nearly $200,000 to the city of Lee’s Summit for fire protection – a discussion on insurance quotes for the upcoming year, an update on the storm water usage fee and possible appointment of Ring to the Katy Trail and Kansas City Light Rail projects.
There were also four resolutions and ordinances to pass, including a controversial amendment to a city code regarding on-street parking.
As residents filtered into Greenwood’s City Hall, they were informed by DeCourcy there would be no meeting due to a lack of a quorum. Payne had already seated himself at his chair and Ring waited in the hallway as residents milled about.
Later, two of the three aldermen and the mayor had differing views on what the missed meetings may ultimately mean for the city.
“I left the closed (meeting) to go put all the information in my desk and came back and (city clerk) Tammy (Woolford) came back and told me Alderman Van Acker had left,” DeCourcy said. “I have asked the city attorney (Paul Campo) to find a way for the mayor to take control of this. Right now, my hands are tied.”
DeCourcy said he has no choice but to explore other options as city business must go on. Several attempts have been made by Payne and Van Acker to replace Denise Simpson, who resigned in June – all to no avail.
The appointment to replace Simpson must be brought to the table by DeCourcy. In the last four months, he has offered up four replacements to replace Simpson, including Phil Alvarado, Kirk Baldwin, Sharon Hutinett – a candidate that was tabled twice by Van Acker – and Darrell Grooms.
In turn, Van Acker has also suggested candidates that he says DeCourcy refuses to nominate.
“He’s taken off the nominations for Ward I so he can stall until the election,” Van Acker claims. “The remaining candidates that are there – Marvin McGee, Tony Nunn and Al Reynolds – he refuses to appoint any of those three or even bring them to a vote.”
DeCourcy said any supposition that he may be doing this for political reasons is far-fetched.
In fact, DeCourcy announced to the Journal after the meeting was cancelled that he would not seek another term as mayor when his ends in April 2010.
“I am not running again for mayor of Greenwood. I’m worn out,” he said.
Payne, who is often aligned with DeCourcy, also said he will not run again when his term is up, also next April. “I wouldn’t run again if you gave me a million dollars, under no circumstances,” he said.
Filing for office in Greenwood starts Dec. 15.
Election talk aside, DeCourcy and Payne both say key city business continues to go unfinished.
“Lee’s Summit didn’t get paid tonight, that’s one thing,” DeCourcy said. “By leaving, Alderman Van Acker has left the possibility of us not having fire protection. What goes on at a city meeting is bigger than somebody’s ego.
“It’s always a concern when we don’t pay the bills. The city of Lee’s Summit has been good enough to us to let us split the bills up in these tough times, but it’s got to build some bad blood among the cities. We owe them $189,000.”
DeCourcy said Van Acker has single-handedly stopped three closed sessions also by being absent.
Payne is guilty of also stopping a meeting, he acknowledges, because he didn’t want to vote on the choice for Mayor Pro-Tem.
“I have got up and walked out and broken quorum at the end of the meeting because they’ve had on the agenda to have Van Acker or Sara Ring as pro-tem and I don’t want them to have that power,” he said. “He should have stayed and done the payables. This thing was scripted tonight.”
Payne also said he was embarrassed that Paul Barbee drove to Greenwood from Clinton to discuss insurance quotes for the upcoming year.
Van Acker said the notion that city business is not being done is ludicrous, saying the Lee’s Summit Fire Department will be paid and that approving the payables is as simple as scheduling another meeting.
“There is no impact to the city with the politics they are playing,” Van Acker said. “The project on Allendale Lake Road, Doc Henry Road, Sunrise Estates, all those projects are being completed or working to be completed.”
He also said he should not be the target for missing a meeting.
“This is the first meeting I’ve missed since I’ve been elected,” Van Acker said. “The city business is being taken care of. The city is moving forward and I don’t see an issue.”
The parking ordinance change was at the top of many citizens’ lists to address at the meeting.
Payne and DeCourcy have insinuated that may have been the reason Van Acker left the meeting.
Van Acker said he is against the ordinance and has let his colleagues and city staff know that, asking them to re-word the ordinance before any meeting in December.
“The current parking ordinance is unproductive and unjust,” he said. “This same ordinance was brought up a year and a half ago. It impacts businesses downtown and impacts auctions. It’s unfair to those residents and unfair to everyone else.”
Barring any future absences or aldermen leaving before a meeting is completed, the next opportunity the board of aldermen will have to address city business will be Dec. 14, unless, of course, an earlier meeting is scheduled. DeCourcy has suggested a meeting be held sooner to at least pay the bills.
As far as nominating a replacement for Simpson, DeCourcy said back in August if the board did not come to a conclusion soon, he would solicit third-party help from another city. In 2005, Greenwood sought and received help from Independence to fill an empty BOA seat.
“I think we are at a stalemate right now,” Van Acker said. “Darrell Grooms was a viable candidate, but he took his name out of the hat. I don’t feel it is fair or just for him to put his name back in and be nominated.
“It’s up to the mayor. It’s his job to appoint and it hasn’t been on the agenda.”
DeCourcy said he is not optimistic about Simpson’s seat being filled anytime soon.
“As long as this board is the way it is, nothing is going to happen,” he said. “You have business owners from outside the city controlling Sara Ring and business owners from outside the city controlling Jim Van Acker.”
Ring did not return a phone call seeking comment on the meeting in time for deadline.
To reach Journal publisher John Beaudoin, call 816-282-7001 or e-mail jbeaudoin@lsjournal.com
