{"body": "CityCouncil", "date": "2018-04-16", "page": 1, "text": "MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING\nTUESDAY-- -APRIL 16, 2018- -5:00 P.M.\nMayor Spencer convened the meeting at 5:01 p.m.\nRoll Call -\nPresent:\nCouncilmembers Ezzy Ashcraft, Matarrese, Oddie, Vella and\nMayor Spencer - 5.\nAbsent:\nNone.\nPublic Comment\nMayor Spencer stated there are 34 speakers; inquired whether Council wants to\nconsider limiting the time to two minutes.\nCouncilmember Ezzy Ashcraft stated the Council is considering a serious matter; that\nshe would prefer to keep three minutes and speakers be held to three minutes.\nMayor Spencer requested speakers not go over the three minutes.\nCouncilmember Ezzy Ashcraft requested speakers not be able to cede time.\nMayor Spencer stated none of the speakers have requested time be ceded; noted she\nwould call the speakers in the order submitted.\nExpressed concern over Councilmembers Oddie and Vella participating in the Closed\nSession; urged the Jenkins report be released or at least the determination whether\nCouncilmembers Oddie and Vella violated the Charter and the recommended action;\nread the March 9 Closed Session announcement; noted Ms. Keimach has not seen the\nreport: Paul Foreman, Alameda Citizens Task Force.\nExpressed concern over special interests running the City and decisions being made in\nsecret; urged Council to reconsider firing Ms. Keimach, Councilmembers Oddie and\nVella to recuse themselves, and to release the report and refer it to the Grand Jury:\nCameron Bateman, Alameda.\nUrged Councilmembers to proceed with caution; stated the public should hear the\nalleged tapes and be involved in the decision making process: Camille Khazar,\nAlameda.\nUrged Councilmembers Oddie and Vella to recuse themselves and the report\nbe\nreleased to the public: Jim Sweeney, Alameda.\nRequested that all versions of the investigative report be released and the tape\nrecording be made public: Former Councilmember Karin Lucas, Alameda.\nSpecial Meeting\nAlameda City Council\nApril 16, 2018\n1", "path": "CityCouncil/2018-04-16.pdf"}
{"body": "CityCouncil", "date": "2018-04-16", "page": 2, "text": "Stated the City Manager was trying to fulfill her responsibilities in a professional\nmanner; two Councilmembers were out of bounds in trying to influence the hiring of a\nnew Fire Chief; Councilmembers Oddie and Vella should not be permitted to vote to fire\nthe City Manager and should not be able to continue serving if the City Manager cannot\ncontinue serving: Colleen Pimentel, Alameda.\nStated the Council needs to be open and transparent; she is concerned about the\nprocess; terminating the City Manager should follow the correct process in order to\nprevent a lawsuit: Evelyn Kennedy, Alameda.\nExpressed concern with Councilmembers Oddie and Vella voting, the integrity of the\nprocess, and potential lawsuits; urged Council to reinstate Ms. Keimach: Lisa Brown,\nAlameda.\nStated the full results of the investigation should be released in an un-redacted form\nwith all drafts; the citizens paid for the report and deserve the full story so that\nspeculation can cease, which goes for the tapes as well; urged any decision regarding\nthe City Manager be postponed: Michelle Morgan, Alameda.\nStated that he is a retired prosecutor; he secretly tape recorded people when the\ncircumstances called for it; urged the report be revealed and the matter be referred to\nthe Grand Jury: Rockne Harmon, Alameda.\nExpressed concern with the City Manager and Police Chief releasing information to the\nnews media; stated that he resents the attacks on the two Councilmembers: Marty\nFrates, Alameda.\nUrged Council to release the recording and everything provided as a result of the\ninvestigation, to not take further action related to the City Manager and elevate the\nmatter to the Grand Jury for resolution: Ron Bain, Alameda.\nStated the lack of information is cultivating a breeding ground for rumors; expressed\nconcern over the impacts on the City; suggested Council consider negotiating the City\nManager's return: Michael McDonough, Chamber of Commerce and Downtown\nAlameda Business Association.\nDiscussed Ms. Keimach's qualifications; suggested Council consider retaining Ms.\nKeimach: Rob Wonder, Alameda.\nRequested the report and tape be released prior to a decision about the City Manager;\nurged Councilmembers Oddie and Vella to recuse themselves: Karen Miller, Alameda.\nExpressed concern over hiding behind Closed Sessions; stated ethically, the two\nCouncilmembers involved should recuse themselves; urged the unedited report and\ntape be released: Catherine Bierwith, Alameda.\nSpecial Meeting\nAlameda City Council\nApril 16, 2018\n2", "path": "CityCouncil/2018-04-16.pdf"}
{"body": "CityCouncil", "date": "2018-04-16", "page": 3, "text": "Stated that she is outraged over the lack of transparency; the accused should not vote\non the termination of the accuser and should recuse themselves for ethical reasons:\nCornelia Grunseth, Alameda.\nExpressed how upset he is: Eric Grunseth, Alameda.\nStated the information has not come out; discussed the legal issues of the Charter,\neavesdropping, extortion and whistleblowing; stated taking action involves serious\nliabilities; urged the issue be resolved: Kenneth Peterson, Alameda.\nStated Councilmembers Vella and Oddie voting is a clear conflict of interest and both\nshould recuse themselves: Heinrich Albert, Alameda.\nExpressed concern about the process, which required an employee evaluation; stated\nthe City Manager taped the meeting to protect herself; suggested calling the City\nManager in for evaluation and give her 6 to 12 months to correct her performance;\nurged the tape and January 30th investigator's report be released: William Norton,\nAlameda.\nStated Jill Keimach's tape recording of the meeting was lawful in every respect and\nmore than justified given the circumstances she was placed in at the time; Penal Code\nSection 633.5 clearly provides that the recording could be made for the purpose of\nobtaining evidence reasonably believed to relate to the commission by another party to\nthe communication of the crime of extortion, kidnapping bribery or any felony involving\nviolence against the person; the person taping the conversation must have had a\npurpose rooted in the reasonable belief that she was gathering evidence in the\ncommission of a certain crime; Ms. Keimach consulted with the City Attorney; the City\nAttorney said it was alright; 59 minutes of the meeting pertained to telling Ms. Keimach\nwhat to do with her decision, telling Ms. Keimach how to make her decision and trying to\ninterfere in her performance as a City Manager; when she finished the meeting, she\nwent back to the City Attorney, said she tape recorded the meeting and said they did\nexactly what she feared they would do; the tape recording was no secret; it was not\ndiscovered during the independent investigation; it was known; this is not about the\nrecording; it is about the pervasive misconduct by two sitting Councilmembers to exert\nimproper and unlawful influence on behalf of their union supporters over the hiring\ndecision of a City Manager; the Council should be investigating that misconduct; the\ntape recording was not illegal and is a red herring; consider not the fact of the recording,\nbut what is on the recording: Therese Cannata, Attorney for Jill Keimach.\nStated any decision to terminate Ms. Keimach would violate Labor Code Section\n1102.5, which is the whistleblower retaliation statute; it prevents an employer from\nretaliating against an employee who discloses information about a violation of local,\nState or Federal law; Ms. Keimach reported to the City, back in October, that in violation\nof City Charter Section 7-3, Councilmembers Oddie and Vella had attempted to direct\nher selection of a new Fire Chief and had essentially directed her to hire the preferred\ncandidate of the Firefighter's Union; the Firefighter's Union had been a major contributor\nSpecial Meeting\nAlameda City Council\nApril 16, 2018\n3", "path": "CityCouncil/2018-04-16.pdf"}
{"body": "CityCouncil", "date": "2018-04-16", "page": 4, "text": "to their campaigns and is helping fund their legal defense; requested Councilmembers\nOddie and Vella recuse themselves from participating in this matter; stated recusal\nunder these circumstances is well supported by the law because they have an obvious\nconflict of interest; their conduct is clearly an issue; their conduct amounted to extortion\nand bribery; they should not be allowed to serve as judge and jury in their own case;\nunder 1102.5, a public employee does not have to prove that the law was violated, she\nonly has to show a reasonable belief that the information she disclosed showed a\nviolation of law; both of these laws have been construed very broadly; he and Ms.\nCannata represented a whistleblower in a suit against the City and County of San\nFrancisco last year, which resulted in a verdict of $2.6 million, plus fees; he hopes it\ndoes not come to that, but as many citizens have told Council tonight, the City would be\nexposing itself to serious liability if it went ahead with the ill-advised decision which\nseems to be on the agenda; he supports the release of the tapes and all versions, drafts\nand redactions of the investigative report; Ms. Keimach has nothing to hide and wants\nthe tape released: Karl Olson, Attorney for Jill Keimach.\nStated that she is the City Attorney for five cities in the Bay Area and on the League of\nCalifornia Cities Board of Directors; in her capacity as Town Attorney for the Town of\nMoraga, she worked with Jill Keimach for over five years; Ms. Keimach is one of the\nfinest City Managers that she has ever worked with; despite the fact that there are\nnoticing problems with the meeting tonight and that complaints and charges are going to\nbe heard without the 24 hour notice, urged Council to take a reasoned, tempered\napproach; the decision is very difficult; asked Council to consider the fact that there are\na lot of options, other than the drastic, unnecessary measure of terminating Jill\nKeimach; urged Council to think of other options: Michelle Kenyon, Attorney for Jill\nKeimach.\nStated that she has worked her entire career in the public sector; a key core of her\nvalue system is to enhance the public's trust of government; trust that its elected and\nappointed officials will put the interest of the larger community in the forefront of every\ndecision; trust that even behind closed doors officials will make decisions based on\nwhat is best for the community and not their self-interest; she was put to the test in\nAlameda to take the easy road and maintain the past practices or to make her life a little\nmore difficult by exposing unethical behavior; she chose the harder road and although it\nwas obviously difficult for all of us, her ethics and good governance would require her to\nmake all the same decisions again; she feels she has been successful in moving the\nneedle a little bit so that the residents are more aware of what is going on in Alameda\nand the public's trust can be enhanced in the future; she worked hard and well with an\nexceptional group of department heads and staff; stated a number of community and\nCouncil priorities were accomplished; the controversy was created when she held to an\nopen and transparent process to hire a Fire Chief which resulted in the selection of a\nChief who is a good fit with the Fire Union and is working to increase departmental\nrevenues and improve processes; outlined her work on a Project Labor Agreement, the\nanimal shelter, the CalPERS unfunded pension liability, and the budget; stated whether\nCouncil directs staff to schedule a mediation, decides to terminate her after she asked\nSpecial Meeting\nAlameda City Council\nApril 16, 2018\n4", "path": "CityCouncil/2018-04-16.pdf"}
{"body": "CityCouncil", "date": "2018-04-16", "page": 5, "text": "to see the investigative report or decides to reinstate her, she will continue to appreciate\nthe dedicated staff of Alameda: Jill Keimach.\nExpressed support for Jill Keimach remaining the City Manager; stated Ms. Keimach\nhas elicited a sense of enthusiasm and team unity amongst staff; outlined the residents\nsiding with Ms. Keimach on the rent and financial ballot measures; stated firing Ms.\nKeimach sends a signal that political connections, not professional judgements, matter\nto City Hall; urged Council to keep Ms. Keimach, Councilmembers to recuse themselves\nand to release all the information: Former Councilmember Tony Daysog, Alameda.\nStated in the interest of transparency, she requests that Council release the tapes and\nall uncensored reports regarding the hiring of the Fire Chief: Jeanne Allen, Alameda.\nStated many are shocked about what is occurring at City Hall; verified reports of the\ntape recording seem to show Councilmembers Oddie and Vella were trying to\nintimidate, cajole and suggest rewards to get Ms. Keimach to hire their Fire Chief\ncandidate; the victim is wrongly being portrayed as the perpetrator of the problem;\ndiscussed squandering tax dollars; urged Ms. Keimach continue as City Manager: Marie\nKane, Alameda.\nSubmitted his comments; expressed concern over Councilmembers interfering with\nhiring decisions, the legal advice regarding the recording, and the investigative report\nnot being released: Michael Metcalf, Former Moraga Councilmember.\nUrged the Council to demonstrate true leadership, admit and correct mistakes and put\nMs. Keimach back in service: Jay Ingram, Alameda.\nExpressed concern over the public comments being made; stated recording\nconversations is illegal; expressed support for Councilmembers Oddie and Vella: Mike\nHenneberry, Alameda.\nStated the meeting is not about politics; it is about a line in the law; personal interests\nshould be set aside: Erik Strimling, Alameda.\nDiscussed the character of Jill Keimach; urged Council to bring back Ms. Keimach:\nChristine Chilcott, Alameda.\nExpressed concern over Jill Keimach not being evaluated for almost two years and the\ncurrent evaluation being retaliatory: Sally Rudloff, Alameda.\nDiscussed sharing the investigative report with Ms. Keimach and releasing it to the\npublic; suggested seeking advice from independent legal counsel; questioned whether\nthe Council has considered progressive discipline; discussed costs: Don Margolis.\nCompared Alameda to Washington D.C; stated that she wants hear the recordings and\nread the original investigative report to make an informed decision; urged Council to not\nSpecial Meeting\nAlameda City Council\nApril 16, 2018\n5", "path": "CityCouncil/2018-04-16.pdf"}
{"body": "CityCouncil", "date": "2018-04-16", "page": 6, "text": "fire the City Manager and turn the report over to the Grand Jury: Katia Huebner,\nAlameda.\nStated the process has not been completed; the County District Attorney should rule on\nthe taping before Council takes action against Jill Keimach; discussed Closed Session\ninformation being leaked to the press: Joe Loparo, Alameda.\nStated a legal process should be followed; the recording should be released; the facts\nneed to be on the table: Marilyn Schumacher, Alameda.\nStated Councilmembers Oddie and Vella should recuse themselves; stated the three\nremaining Councilmembers should come up with a unanimous decision about how to\nmove forward: Irene Dieter, Alameda.\nStated the process to keep Jill Keimach as the City Manager should be done fairly and\nnot behind closed doors; the matter should be brought to the District Attorney's office;\nCouncilmembers Oddie and Vella should recuse themselves and not be part of the\ndecision making process because of the conflict of interest; expressed support for\nkeeping Jill Keimach even if she made a small procedural flaw recording the\nconversation; demanded the tape be released to the public: Rosalinda Fortuna,\nAlameda.\nThe meeting was adjourned to Closed Session to consider:\n(18-201) Conference with Legal Counsel - Anticipated Litigation; Significant exposure to\nlitigation pursuant to subdivisions (d)(2) and e(2) of California Government Code\nSection 54956.9 relating to the allegations made in City Manager Jill Keimach's October\n2, , 2017 letter; Number of cases: Three (As Defendant - City Exposure to Legal Action)\n(18-202) Public Employee Performance Evaluation; Public Employee\nDismissal/Release; Pursuant to California Government Code Section 54957;\nEmployee/Position Jill Keimach, City Manager\nMayor Spencer called a recess at 8:49 p.m. and reconvened the meeting at 8:57 p.m.\n***\nCouncilmembers Oddie and Vella recused themselves and left the meeting at 10:32\np.m. and returned at 10:43 p.m.\n***\nFollowing the Closed Session, the meeting was reconvened and the City Clerk\nannounced that regarding Litigation, City Council unanimously voted to release, on\nWednesday, May 2nd. the investigative report compiled by Michael Jenkins; Council\nunanimously voted to instruct the City Attorney to refer the audio recordings to the\nSpecial Meeting\nAlameda City Council\nApril 16, 2018\n6", "path": "CityCouncil/2018-04-16.pdf"}
{"body": "CityCouncil", "date": "2018-04-16", "page": 7, "text": "Alameda County District Attorney, the Council unanimously voted to give direction to\nstaff on one item, and with three present, Council voted to give direction to staff [Absent:\nCouncilmember Oddie and Vella - 2]; and regarding Performance Evaluation, direction\nwas given to staff, by the following vote: Ayes: Councilmembers Oddie, Vella and Mayor\nSpencer - 3. Noes: Councilmembers Ezzy Ashcraft and Matarrese - 2.\nAdjournment\nThere being no further business, Mayor Spencer adjourned the meeting at 10:55 p.m.\nRespectfully submitted,\nLara Weisiger\nCity Clerk\nThe agenda for this meeting was posted in accordance with the Sunshine Ordinance.\nSpecial Meeting\nAlameda City Council\nApril 16, 2018\n7", "path": "CityCouncil/2018-04-16.pdf"}