Flu leaves Lindsay council shorthanded

Without Mayor Ramona Villarreal-Padilla and City Manager Rich Wilkinson, a lot of business before the Lindsay City Council Tuesday was either delayed or hung up on a 2-2 vote.

Both Padilla and Wilkinson were out sick, but it did not stop some lively discussion regarding the city’s attempt to form a committee to develop council procedures, including meeting procedures.

Councilman Steven Mecum questioned how the committee was being named, suggesting that Wilkinson should not be a member, but only to attend meetings in an advisory role.

Deputy City Manager Maria Knutson told the council that only one citizen had applied to serve on the advisory committee that is to be made up of one citizen, two council members and Knutson and Wilkinson. The committee was to be appointed by the mayor with the council’s approval, but Mecum said the charter states the council should make recommendations to the mayor, who would then make the appointments.

He suggested the committee have more community members, but since Padilla was absent, the entire matter was tabled until the next meeting.

The council also failed to approve awarding a bid on a project it had approved a month ago — to repave the parking lot at the Lindsay-Strathmore Memorial Building. A motion to award that bid to a Lindsay company failed on a 2-2 vote, not because of the bid, but because Mecum and Councilmember Rosaena Sanchez apparently no longer want the project done.

Mecum questioned doing the project that would require the city borrowing the money from a USDA grant fund. However, it was explained the grant, which was awarded some time ago and could only be used for such projects, was going to be repaid by the Lindsay Hospital District, so there was no cost to the city.

The council indicated the matter would be brought back up at the next meeting on Feb. 26.

Also pulled from the closed session was a planned annual performance evaluation of Wilkinson.

That will be done when he returns.