Council members in the village of Lakeview met for no longer than absolutely necessary Monday, Aug. 20, in regular session for the first time since litigation was filed to seek to remove the villiage’s mayor from office.
Council convened for less than 15 minutes Monday and officials declined to comment on the lawsuit in any form, citing the pending litigation.
Earlier this month, a group of 143 Lakeview residents retained attorney Tim Steinhelfer and filed a lawsuit seeking mayor Elaine Fagan-Moore’s removal from office. The legal action alleges dereliction of duty related to the mayor’s management of the Lakeview Fire Department following the March 14 EF3 tornado. The lawsuit claims that Fagan-Moore’s decisions during the crisis negatively impacted disaster relief efforts and emergency response times.
During public participation questions were raised about taxpayer money being used for the mayor’s legal defense.
In April, during a peak of the turmoil surrounding the mayor’s relationship with the fire department and the village’s tornado response, council met for some four hours. Monday’s meeting lasted just a few minutes.
Council has a new legal representation in recent weeks. Previous solicitor Lynette Dinkler recently resigned citing personal reasons. Attorney Daniel Bey from Urbana has since been hired as the village’s solicitor.
As for village business that was conducted, councilman Terry Brentlinger resigned his position due to relocating out of the village. Additionally, the council voted to vacate Lima Street.
A hearing on the lawsuit to remove the mayor is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., Friday, Aug. 30, in Logan County Common Pleas Court Council’s next meeting is Sept. 3.
