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East Bethel council signals preference for new city attorney firm
Summary
Council members told staff they favor moving to a new attorney group (Bomgardner/Berglund/Glazer) instead of the incumbent firm and asked staff to draft a new contract reflecting council preferences, including a clause naming Mark Berglund as the attorney who will attend meetings.
East Bethel — City staff asked the council on March 23 for direction about a replacement for the city attorney contract that is due to expire, and several council members said they preferred switching to the Bomgardner/Berglund/Glazer team rather than renewing with Ekberg & Lammers.
The staff report said the contract will need to be redrafted based on the council’s preference. One council member who reviewed references reported unanimous positive feedback about the recommended candidates and said "they listen to the Council. And then they advise on that." Another council member said, "change is good and I think we should try the alternate," and the group agreed to present the recommended firm at the next regular meeting.
Council discussed contract length and protections for the city: the candidates propose a three-year contract with a fixed price for that period and a 30-day out clause so the city may terminate if the arrangement does not fit. One council member asked that the contract explicitly specify that Mark Berglund would be the attorney assigned to attend city meetings; staff said that request would be included in the draft.
Next steps: staff will bring a draft contract to the regular council meeting for formal action and will work with the selected firm to finalize start dates following the expiration of the current agreement.
