IT’S ONLY AN OPINION
The Sturgeon Bay common council fortunately took the first step toward formally enacting a Code of Ethics and a Code of Conduct last night and just in time as there appears to be a first opportunity to exercise parts of the new code immediately upon its final approval in two weeks.
Council members Gary Nault and Dan Williams introduced the May 7, 2019, closed session agenda item topic, requesting reconsideration of the city attempting to join in the current Wiese/Wulf et. al., appeal of the January 3, 2019 WI DNR ordinary high water mark decision for city lot 92, being heard by Judge Gregory B Gill on May 9, tomorrow as I write this.
What cannot be dismissed as a mere oversight without a full investigation as a potential violation of ethics and conduct was an obvious and blatant failure to include any of the WI Department of Justice defenses of the WI DNR January 3, 2019 OHWM decision in the council’s information packet published on the city website, Friday May 3.
It appears as no real wonder that Mr Nault would want to place restrictions on the public commenting during city meetings when a member of the public last night, pointed out that either the two councilmen, the mayor (supposedly in charge of the agenda) or city staff failed to present all the easily and readily available information on the legal appeal topic, to have engendered an honest and fully informed council engage in the closed session topic discussion.
In other words was initially presenting only one side of this current legal appeal to the council in their information packet a deliberate action, potentially in order to serve the private financial concerns of five Sturgeon Bay citizens claiming to have legal standing to appeal of the WI DNR decision? Mayor Ward commented to the first public speaker that the WI DOJ response of May 2, 2019, was “only an opinion.”
Along with the May 2, WI DOJ response to the Wiese/Wulf appeal of the WI DNR decision was their 17 page DOJ response of April 19, 2019, and a third party respondent’s brief supporting the WI DNR Jan 3, 2019, OHWM decision. No common council can make an unbiased and informed decision with only half the legal picture initially presented to them for their consideration. Last night’s concerned citizens speaking up before the council undoubtedly beg for generous expansion of public comments, not further restrictions.
