A voting position but has been changed from the mayor to the city manager.

And finally, uh the approved version by the Shawnee Ford board that's before you today has added a default notice provision and a 30-day cure period of any note uh any default that has been noticed to the city.

So essentially we're required to put them on notice if we believe any portion of the contract is not being followed, and they have 30 days in which to cure that default.

That provision did not uh exist in the last version of the contract.

And with that, I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Any questions for city attorney?

None good.

I would add as part of your discussion, it has been requested of me by Ward 4 Commissioner to read a statement.

And so if and when you find that appropriate, I'll read that statement.

I'm sure if there's no objections, go ahead and do it now.

Again, this is uh statement from Ward for Commissioner Fickner.

Uh for the record, despite the unavailability of Mayor Stevens and Commissioners Fickner and Richter, their formal request to postpone this matter to the next scheduled meeting.

The request was denied, and the rest of the commission proceeded without their input.

I am writing to formally address several concerns regarding Shawnee Ford and its relationship with the Commission.

Contract compliance and quarterly reporting.

Per

the terms of our funding agreement, Shawnee Ford is required to provide quarterly updates to the Commission.

To date, I've seen this occur one to two times.

The commission must ensure the contract is being abided by in full, including timely reporting, so we can maintain proper oversight of public funds.

Board representation request.

Following our collaborative work with Shawnee Ford, the mayor and I worked hard on our relationship with the county and asked them to provide Shawnee Ford with matching funding contingent on good governance and transparency.

The county agreed and provided those matching funds.

We are providing together over $600,000.

Following that funding increase to Shawnee Ford, we requested that Shawnee Ford consider a rotating seat on the Shawnee Ford board for a commissioner and or mayor.

This request was made to ensure elected representation and accountability given the public investment involved.

Conduct and communication.

Subsequent to that request, the CEO and chair of the board engaged in a multi-week campaign that included untruthful statements about the mayor and me.

They sought our removal from the commission and claimed possession of recordings that were later determined not to exist.

They also contracted, excuse me, contacted and recorded conversations with multiple commissioners without disclosure.

Please note this conduct was not attributed to the full board but specifically to the CEO and the board chair.

At the last commission meeting, the vote regarding Shawnee Ford contract funding failed, and they have now called for a revote reaching out to certain commissioners only.

The

mayor and I have requested to speak to the board multiple times and would honestly like an apology.

Given these events, I am not confident the funding terms or governance structure will deliver the outcomes the commission and taxpayers expect.

Transparency and NBAs.

I must also raise concern regarding Shawnee Ford's use of non-disclosure agreements.

Elected officials have been asked to plan around projects and commitments to the town without visibility into the underlying agreements due to the NDA signed by the entity.

One more reason why we requested a board seat.

This creates operational and budgetary challenges for the city as we cannot plan for obligations.

We are not permitted to review.

County leadership has since met with the board to confirm that neither the mayor nor I stepped outside the scope of our roles.

We expressed only our opinions regarding board representation and still strongly believe that we're holding this right.

Request for action.

To move forward responsibly, I request the commission consider enforcement of quarterly reporting requirements per the existing contract, clarification on the legal basis for Shawnee Ford executing NDAs that preclude elected officials from reviewing commitments affecting public planning and funding.

A formal reassessment of the funding arrangement, contingent on restored transparency, accurate communication, and inclusion of a rotating elected seat on the board.

Public funds require public accountability, respectfully, Ashley Fickner board board commissioners.

In addition, Commissioners, County Commissioner Dennis has provided a statement with regard to uh some of the specific allegations that were made in reference to Commissioner Fickner's statement.

I would just say that they reiterate Commissioner Fickner's position that the county does not believe that there was anything improper that occurred in any of the meetings that occurred between any commissioners and Shawnee Ford over the past contract year.

And with that I can't answer questions because these are not my statements.

Thank

you Joe.

All right

any

discussion on the board anybody like to make a motion

approved

and

I'll second a motion.

Any discussion following the motion

seeing

that we'll call the vote motion carries 40 item two adjournment by public chair we're adjourned