Bloomsdale Aldermen Consider Hiring A City Attorney, Discuss Attorney’s Fees For TIF Project
Hiring a new city attorney and dealing with a bill from attorney Mark Spykerman were the main topics of the January 8 Bloomsdale Board of Aldermen meeting, once trash collection discussions were complete.
The city has been without an attorney since Frank Elpers died in January of 2018.
City clerk Lynnette Randoll said she received some information from Mark Bishop of the Weggman Law Firm after he had read a recent Herald story in which the Bloomsdale leaders had mentioned the firm as one of the possibilities to explore.
Mayor Paul Monia indicated that Bishop serving as the city of Ste. Genevieve’s attorney makes him an attractive candidate.
“That was the leg-up at the time,” Monia said. “The little bit we used an attorney, that was why we used Frank as our attorney — because he was the attorney for Ste. Genevieve and because a city has a few things a little bit different than the average attorney would see on a day to day basis. It was nice that he was aware of that.” …
Earlier this winter the city received an invoice for $4,361 from Gilmore Bell for time put in by Spykerman while the city was investigating the possibility of establishing a tax increment financing (TIF) district.
The city negotiated with Spykerman and got the bill reduced to $3,061, then sent the bill to TAG Development, which had brought the law firm into the picture in its proposal to develop property in Bloomsdale.
Monia said he has heard nothing from TAG since.
“My concern was we need to get him paid,” Monia said. “However, I think it’s in our best interest to re-reach out to them [TAG] and say, ‘Hey, it’s in our best interests to get this paid and you have until our next meeting or be at our next meeting so we can come to a decision as to how we’re going to clear this matter up.’
“That’s my opinion, guys. That would be something for you to decide. But I don’t want to just fold and pay it.”
See complete story in the January 16 edition of the Herald.