Sebastian City Council approved a legal-services agreement to bring Jim Stokes on as interim city attorney and voted to appoint him as special counsel during an overlap period to permit paid transition work.

City staff said Stokes accepted the interim arrangement and has signed the agreement; councilors debated the effective date. The council approved making him special counsel immediately and designating an interim city attorney effective Oct. 29. The council also approved the legal-services agreement on a recorded roll call vote.

A current city attorney present at the meeting discussed options for using special counsel during the transition and noted the city can have only one official city attorney at a time but may engage special counsel for overlap work. The council approved the agreement and the special-counsel appointment in separate motions; recorded yes votes for the agreement included Council member Dye, Council member Nunn, Mayor McPartland and Vice Mayor Jones. The separate motion to appoint Stokes as special counsel carried with yes votes from Council member Nunn, Mayor McPartland, Vice Mayor Jones and Council member Dye.

The council directed staff to finalize contract dates and to include transition compensation for Stokes as reflected in the agreement.