Local attorney David Ludescher addressed the City Council during the Public Comment section of Tuesday night’s regular city council meeting, to inform the mayor, most members of the Council, and City Clerk Lynnette Peterson that he has prepared two separate lawsuits in which they have been individually named.
Neither of the lawsuits have been filed yet, Ludescher said, and he told the council that it is his hope things will not come to litigation.
One lawsuit names Todd Zehnder and Joe Grundhoefer as plaintiffs “on behalf of all Petitioners of the Petition.” The City of Northfield, Mayor Rhonda Pownell and every member of the City Council with the exception of Councilor Brad Ness are named as defendants. The Complaint Prior to Litigation, as it is labeled, charges that the city and the City Council members acted wrongly when dismissing a petition signed by 1100+ people asking for a reverse referendum on the funding for the city’s 2023 road construction project.
The second lawsuit names Ludescher as the plaintiff. Mayor Pownell and City Clerk Lynnette Peterson are named defendants. The complaint is related to a vote taken during the November 15th City Council meeting. Ludescher claims Peterson recorded the mayor having voted “aye” on the consent agenda, which included the second reading of an amendment to the City Charter. Yet, according to the complaint, Mayor Pownell did not vote. The lawsuit is asking for the record to be changed.
Speaking with Jeff Johnson on the KYMN Morning Show on Wednesday, City Administrator Ben Martig said he had not looked at either complaint closely, having only received it 13 hours prior. However, he said, the city is confident in their position against any complaint regarding the road construction projects.
“We think we’re on solid ground, very solid ground legally. The project’s up and going and we’re going to be initiating action soon related to the financing of the project. So, we’re proceeding ahead. We’ll certainly look at any kind of paperwork, but if that’s what it relates to, we’re certainly prepared.”
Mayor Pownell defended the city and its procedures, saying there are always going to be differences of opinion when it comes to city business. The lawsuits, she said, are the result of those differences.
“There’s been a lot of analysis. We’ve answered and responded to a lot of the concerns there, particularly with the one that is related to the Charter amendment. The Charter Commission actually reviewed that complaint. So, there’s certainly nothing is happening here that the general public is not aware of. And [to the complaint] that things have not been vetted – they have been thoroughly vetted. It’s just that people have not liked the answer.”
An email to local media outlets from Attorney Ludescher said he would not file the complaint regarding the November 15th vote if the record were changed. There is no word on what the plaintiffs named on the petition complaint would like to see from the city to preclude the filing of their lawsuit.
NEW YMCA CEO draws on experience as an attorney in his new role
The Northfield Area Family YMCA’s new CEO Tyler Powell has just completed his first full week in his new role. Powell was named CEO in early June after an extensive search across the country for what Search Committee Chair Dan Neuger called “the perfect candidate.”
Powell grew up in Janesville, Wisconsin and graduated from Luther College in 2013 before attending law school at the William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul.
Powell said he has been involved with YMCA programs most of his life. As a kid he attended YMCA summer camps and special events and competed on his local YMCA’s swim team. In fact, his first job was as a lifeguard at the “Y.”
Powell said he practiced law for three years, and while his time as an attorney was fulfilling and successful, he ultimately felt a call for nonprofit service work, and the YMCA was the best place for him to fill that need. Moving to Door County in Wisconsin he has worked over the years as a Youth Director, Branch Director, Program & Innovation Executive, and Mission Advancement Executive. And he said the work he has done with the organization has been incredibly fulfilling.
“Just the quality of life working for the YMCA. The feeling of going home every single day like you’ve done something. At least you can look back and say I helped either a child get better at a certain sports skill or, got somebody to be involved as a member of the ‘Y.’ It was just a great feeling of accomplishment at the end of each day.”
While he clearly feels more suited to working with the YMCA, he said law school gave him skills that have become almost like a second language to him, and he said he still calls on his training as an attorney every day.
“It’s honestly a skill set I pull from every day and an education I use every day. I think most attorneys or people who have gone through law school will tell you, the best thing you learn is how to think critically and analytically about any situation. You know, slowing down the process of how we’re approaching something, but making sure we’re viewing all sides of it. The approach to problem solving is a lot easier.”
Powell said the transition he, his wife and his two daughters are experiencing has been a positive one. He intends to apply some of the ideas he developed in Door County, where the population is about half that of Northfield, but the YMCA has twice the membership. He called the Northfield staff “incredible,” and said the thing he is most looking forward to is continuing the Y’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic by getting programs back up and running, and the “Y’ back to where it should be.
Powell succeeds Krista Danner who stepped down in February.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
