After a three-hour long executive session in which only aldermen and the mayor were present, no action was taken.
The Lake Ozark Board of Aldermen meeting adjourned close to midnight Tuesday evening. All staff was excluded from the executive session.
This came on the heels of a motion made by Alderman Robert Davis to terminate city administrator Charles Clark earlier in the meeting.
Allegations of sexual harassment against the city administrator surfaced two weeks ago. The chief of police investigated the incident and released his findings behind closed doors, a move that prompted two aldermen to walk out of the meeting.
In the time since, Davis said that there has been a lot of unrest and turmoil boiling up within the city and its officials. He felt the conflict would end if Clark was fired.
The sensitive topic drew little response from other aldermen. Instead Aldermen Larry Buschjost asked that the motion and any other discussion on the topic be moved to executive session.
Davis responded by saying he felt too much has already been kept behind closed doors.
“People want to know where the board stands,” Davis said. “It’s something that won’t happen if the board continues to hide behind closed doors.”
Davis said he was ready to make his decision now, in the open where the public would know where he stood on the issue.
“The city’s turmoil will stop if (Clark) is dismissed,” he added.
Aldermen went into executive session close to 9 p.m. Shortly thereafter, the city attorney, administrator, clerk and police chief were dismissed from the room, leaving only the aldermen and the mayor to take part in the discussion. No explanation was given for them excusing the city staff from executive session.
Aldermen reconvened back into open session just before midnight. Mayor Johnnie Franzeskos announced that no action had been taken and a motion was carried out to adjourn for the night.
Contact this reporter at deanna.wheeler@lakesunonline.com
Lake Ozark, Mo. —
