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Council disputes continue to plague Nelsonville’s attempts to hire an attorney and settle a lawsuit
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — The Nelsonville City Council attempted at a special meeting Saturday to appoint a new city attorney and settle a lawsuit brought against the city by a previous city attorney. It was unable to do either, at least not immediately, because of disagreements among council members.
Nelsonville has been without an attorney since the council voted last month not to continue using the services of Jonathan Robe. Robe was hired on a temporary basis in December after the previous city attorney resigned in November.
City Manager Tom Cangemi had brought in Robe and was hoping the council would approve keeping him on, but some council members objected.
Instead, the council took up an ordinance Saturday to appoint Matthew Voltolini as the city’s new attorney under a three-month contract.
The ordinance included an emergency declaration, which would allow the council to approve the appointment at that meeting instead of requiring three readings of the ordinance at three separate meetings.
But there were not enough votes for an emergency approval. Councilman Gregg Clement voted no and two council members, Justin Booth and Cory Taylor, did not attend the meeting.
Booth and Taylor, in replies to an email announcing Saturday’s special meeting, objected, saying they had not received proper notification about it.
The ordinance was on the agenda for a second reading at Monday night’s regular council meeting.
The ordinance highlighted a dispute between the city manager and some council members over the process.
The city’s charter allows the city manager to hire an attorney for 30 days and recommend the council approve a longer contract. But Voltolini’s name was put forward under another provision of the charter that allows the council to appoint a special counsel who can operate in place of the city attorney.
This can be done without the city manager, said Council President Rita Nguyen.
Nguyen said the city was running out of options. She said she reached out to the Athens County and Fairfield County bar associations to see if any attorneys were interested in the position. She said she got a response from just one attorney who said he might be interested.
“There was literally no one else around who wanted to deal with the mess that’s here,” she said.
Cangemi objected to the council moving so quickly to appoint a new city attorney without giving him time to properly vet the candidate.
“I have no idea of basically who this gentleman is and what he can do for us,” Cangemi said.
When he hired Robe in December, Cangemi said, he spent three weeks vetting the attorney.
“I feel like we’re rushing through the process,” he said. “This is not a good thing for the city.”
Nguyen insisted that Cangemi had in fact recommended Voltolini for the position, but Cangemi disputed this.
The council also took up an ordinance to settle a lawsuit with Garry Hunter, an attorney based in Athens who for many years worked under contract as Nelsonville’s city attorney.
Hunter sued Nelsonville last year claiming that he was owed more than $260,000 in unpaid legal fees. Under the ordinance, the city would pay Hunter $148,455, an amount he has agreed to accept.
Nguyen addressed rumors she said have been circulating that if the city settles with Hunter it will lose its liability insurance. She said she talked to the insurance company and was assured this would not happen.
Also, the insurer would only be paying for the city’s legal costs, not the settlement itself.
Because this ordinance also included an emergency provision, and Clement voted no on this one as well, it also was on the agenda for a second reading at Monday night’s meeting.