From KTVB
by Aspen Shumper
NAMPA — Monday was meant to be the finish line for the Ford Idaho Center conveyance deal to the College of Western Idaho, but instead, plans are now on pause.
The Nampa City Council unanimously voted at Monday’s regularly scheduled city council meeting to postpone all decisions on the Ford Idaho Center until it receives further information from the Twin Falls County prosecutor about possible violations of Idaho’s open meeting law.
The city received a letter on Oct. 10 from the Canyon County Prosecutor’s Office stating that a complaint had been filed, alleging the council had violated Idaho’s Open Meeting Law. The city shared a copy of the letter with KTVB.
The courtesy letter cited allegations that executive sessions were held to discuss the potential transfer, including “inappropriate topics” and “inappropriate minutes and motions.”
In the letter, the prosecutor told city leaders that they can remedy the situation by “curing” any alleged violation. Voting to cure the breach would have forced the council to restart the public hearing and voting process for the conveyance. That would have been a significant setback, considering the deal was nearing the end, following months of public outreach and meetings.
KTVB spoke to Nampa Mayor Debbie Kling, who said if the council had decided to cure the violation, it would not be admitting any wrongdoing, but would rather be an attempt to keep the process going while providing transparency.
“To the best of our ability, we always intend to follow the state statute and to do things right and to listen to our legal counsel and do as they advise us,” Kling said. “In this case, the Ford Idaho Center topic is not a black and white topic, and it’s a little bit tricky, and so while we didn’t intend to do anything wrong, and I don’t know that we did do anything wrong … when you have an alleged violation and someone feels like you’ve done something wrong, it’s important to address it.”
She said there is never an intent to make a mistake.
Kling added: “Both myself and our council members have the greatest intent to be filled with integrity and to do things correctly.”
During Monday’s meeting, it was revealed that Councilman Victor Rodriguez and a private citizen brought the allegation to the prosecutor’s office. KTVB reached out to Rodriguez before the meeting but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Rodriguez, who faced two opponents in Tuesday’s election for the city council’s Seat 2, told fellow council members he believes the council made decisions about the Ford Idaho Center before revealing it to the public. Although he acknowledged that no formal votes were taking place, he still felt that the conversations were violating open meeting laws, and decisions were being made informally.
“This is not transparent, you’re already deciding what we’re going to say, what we’re going to do, by Preston Rutter, our attorney, who knows better, who knows he shouldn’t be allowing us to do this, and then we go into the public hearing where you think you have a say so in this,” Rodriguez said to his fellow council members at the meeting.
Other council members disputed the allegation, saying they felt Rodriguez’s concerns were politically motivated during an election cycle and believed they had done nothing wrong. Several expressed disappointment that it was taken to the county prosecutor instead of directly to the council.
“We’ve had integrity and, just because there are opinions whether or not that we have, I in good faith know that we have not, and we don’t have a formal allegation, how can we make a decision on something we have not seen?” Councilwoman Natalie Jangula said.
Councilmember David Bills defended the council’s decision to go into executive session, as per the guidance of the city attorney. Bills said it is appropriate for a council to enter executive session for things like real estate negotiations. Kling added, especially when they are renegotiating a contract in competition with other Treasure Valley venues and do not want to discuss the contract publicly.
“I don’t appreciate being accused of doing wrong, and I didn’t do wrong,” Bills said.
Several council members expressed discomfort with voting to cure the violations without seeing a complaint and without feedback from the Twin Falls County Prosecutor.
The council decided not to cure the alleged violations and instead postponed a decision about the Ford Idaho Center to Friday, Nov. 7, during a special meeting at 7:30 a.m.
The city is expected to hear from the prosecutor on Wednesday. This will help them determine how to proceed with the deal.
From KTVB