The war drums are beating a little louder in Lake Ozark.
Mayor Johnnie Franzeskos hasn’t even made a final decision on an impeachment proceedings ordinance, but already Alderman Susan Drummond has served him with an amended Bill of Impeachment and a resolution to set a hearing based on the city’s newly voted on rules.
Charge No. 1
Alleges Franzeskos signed a right-of-way use agreement without authorization from board members. The agreement, dated Dec. 30, 2009, is between the city and Lakewood Corporation. Lakewood is the company that bought the old city hall in exchange for a lease-purchase agreement on the current City Hall/Police Department building.
The contracts, which were supported by an aldermen-approved ordinance, include a special contingency that the agreement relied on approval from Lakewood on the locations of all improvements, easements, exceptions, encroachments, setback lines and access to the property.
According to the right-of-way agreement, however, the city’s easement where the city hall sign stands, was missed. Apparently, there was confusion as to whether the city owned the property or not and could not be included in the original contracts.
It was always the intent of negotiations to transfer the property, the agreement states.
Franzeskos signing the agreement and authorizing Lakewood to take control of the property is “in direct contradiction to the wishes of the Board of Aldermen...” the amended version of Bill of Impeachment states.
City’s response:
Franzeskos was directed to sign the right-of-way agreement at the advise and consent of legal council.
Charge No. 2
Alleges Franzeskos entered into more illegal contracts on behalf of the city in relation to the remodeling of the new City Hall/Police Department building.
Drummond says Franzeskos had not been authorized by the board, the contracts weren’t presented in writing, bidding procedures weren’t followed and prevailing wage laws were not complied with.
Larson Construction, a local construction company, performed the remodeling work in City Hall and the Police Department.
Contractor’s response:
Construction projects were broken up into several different pieces to help expedite the process, says Dave Larson, of Larson Construction. By doing so, the whole project was more manageable and the city was able to meet its move-in date deadline.
Had the city missed that deadline, the entire agreement would have been void.
Larson says he is extremely familiar with prevailing wage laws and would not violate the law.
Ticking clock
It’s been two months since Drummond originally brought forth charges against Franzeskos and asked for an impeachment hearing.
Since then, the city has been reviewing its ordinances and procedures, taking the time to enact a new policy that will guide the process step-by-step.
Drummond said she wanted to apologize to the residents of Lake Ozark for the process taking so long.
“It has (dragged) on entirely too long,” she said.
Not over until…
The process will still take several more weeks, however. According to the city’s ordinances, as the mayor, Franzeskos has until the next regular meeting to either sign off on the new ordinance or veto it.
Franzeskos said he was going to be careful with his decision.
A veto could be overturned by a 2/3 vote by aldermen.
From there, Drummond said she has already accelerated the 10-day waiting process between approval of the ordinance (if it happens) and an impeachment hearing by already seeking out an attorney to handle the proceedings.
Interim City Attorney Roger Gibbons, Drummond says, is biased and has a conflict of interest after representing Franzeskos in a voting snafu several years ago where only one vote separated Franzeskos and his opponent.
New attorney?
R. Scott Gardner, of Gardner, Gardner & Gardner, LLP, of Sedalia, Mo., was chosen based on a recommendation of another attorney. He’ll begin representing the city, officially, at the return of an approved ordinance or resolution authorizing the agreement.
According to a letter addressed to the Board of Aldermen, Gardner is going to charge the city a $700 initial fee plus a $175 hourly rate. Additional expenses such as photocopying, mileage for travel outside Pettis County, meals, lodging and the hiring of expert witnesses will also be added onto the city’s monthly bills.
Gardner hasn’t been paid anything, been promised anything or charged anything up to this point, Drummond said.
Drummond said she even reduced the number of charges in the Bill of Impeachment to help lessen the cost burden of hiring an attorney. With more allegations, the fees for representation to prosecute the mayor went up with it.
“If the mayor can prove his innocence, I’ll move on,” Drummond said. “But we’re going to follow due process of the law. We’re going to do everything right.”
Contact this reporter at deanna.wheeler@lakesunonline.com
Download the Documents
• Building Ordinance
• Contract of Sale
• Exhibit 1
• Exhibit 2
• Lease Agreement
• Exhibit 1
• Impeachment Ordinance (final reading approved March 9)
• Amended Bill of Impeachment
• Impeachment Resolution
• Right-of-Way Use Bill
• Right-of-Way Use Agreement
• Exhibit 1
• Gardner Letter
Lake Ozark, Mo. —
