Council amends contract and confirms Joseph P. Zeeman as law director

Mentor on the Lake — The council voted to amend and approve a contract confirming Joseph P. Zeeman as the city’s law director, replacing language that would have terminated the appointment “one year after the mayor’s current term” with an explicit end date of Dec. 31, 2026.

Zeeman addressed council before the vote, saying he appreciated the conversations and transparency leading up to the appointment. “I greatly appreciate council’s consideration of this matter,” he said, and proposed striking the mayor‑term phrase and substituting “12/31/2026.”

Council discussion focused on whether the contract should include a trial period. One member said a short-term review is prudent, noting, “If I were buying a car … I’d want to take it for a test drive first,” and argued the council should retain a clear option to reassess performance. The amendment adopted replaced the variable termination clause with a calendar‑date end while preserving standard language about resignation or administrative dismissal.

A motion to amend the contract was made by Councilmember Bittner and seconded by Missus Thompson; the roll call on the amendment recorded six ayes and one no (Missus Thompson voted no on the amendment). After suspending the rules to act on the matter immediately, the council moved to approve the appointment with the amended termination language and recorded affirmative votes to confirm Zeeman.

The council did not specify additional conditions (such as a formal written probationary evaluation) in the meeting minutes; the transcript records that administrative dismissal and resignation language remained in the contract. The next procedural step is the city’s administrative processing of the contract and any onboarding actions for the new law director.