Gardiner council votes unanimously to enter executive sessions on personnel matter

The Gardiner City Council voted unanimously on March 25 to enter two executive sessions to discuss a personnel matter, Mayor Patricia Hart said at the start of a special meeting.

Mayor Patricia Hart opened the meeting, announced the date and called the roll. Councilors present who identified themselves during roll call included Ken Holmes (District 4); Veronica Babcock (District 2); Debbie Kimball (who identified Prairie Street and then corrected herself regarding district); Tim Cusick (at-large); and Rusty Greenleaf (at-large). Interim City Manager Denise Brown and City Clerk Kathy Cutler were also acknowledged.

Hart then opened the public-comment period for items not on the agenda and said no one was present to speak.

Councilor Rusty Greenleaf moved "to enter into executive session pursuant 1 M.R.S.A. §405(6)(A) regarding personnel matter," a motion that Councilor Debbie Kimball seconded. Mayor Hart called for a vote and asked that it be recorded as unanimous; the council proceeded to close the public portion of the meeting and enter the executive sessions. Hart said the council would not turn the cameras back on for the closed sessions and that she expected "nothing to report" after both sessions; she added that any change would appear in the meeting minutes.

The motion cited state statute 1 M.R.S.A. §405(6)(A), the provision allowing a public body to go into closed session to discuss certain personnel matters. The council did not record individual roll-call votes in the open minutes beyond noting the action was unanimous.

The council recessed open session to conduct the executive sessions. No formal action or outcome from those sessions was announced in the transcript.