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CITY OF NORTH OLMSTED ORDINANCE NO. 2004 - 95 BY: Council Member Gareau AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE DIRECTOR OF LAW TO RETAIN OUTSIDE COUNSEL TO REPRESENT THE CITY OF NORTH OLMSTED AND ITS INDIi'IUDALLY NAMED CITY OFFICIALS IN THE LASWSUIT STYLED STATE, EX REL. M(ISIAL v CITY OF NORTH OLMSTED, ET AL, CUYAHOGA COUNTY COURT OF APPEALS CASE NO. 04-084201, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. WHEREAS, Article V, Section 2 of the Charter provides that the Director of Law, with the approval of City Council, may retain the services of outside counsel, where necessary and appropriate, to assist in the performance of the duties of his office; and WHEREAS, the Director of Law has requested that this Council authorize him to retain outside counsel to represent the City and its named officials in the case of State, ex rel. Musial vs. City of North Olmsted, et al., Cuyahoga County Court of Appeals Case No. 04- 084201, because events beyond his control have occurred since the filing of this action that, under various provisions of the Code of Professional Responsibility, require that he withdraw from continued representation of the City and its named officials in this action; and WHEREAS, the Director of Law has reviewed attorney resumes on file in the Law Department and solicited proposals from several attorneys who practice in the areas of municipal law and public records litigation, and, following said review and soliciting of proposals, recommends that this Council authorize him to retain R. Todd Hunt and Barbara R. Marburger of the Cleveland Law Firm of Walter & Haverfield LLP, as the municipal attorneys that he believes are most qualified to provide the City with the necessary outside legal services at a price which is fair and reasonable to the City; and WHEREAS, it is not feasible or practicable to utilize the formal Request for Proposals ("RFP") procedure set forth in Sections 111.03 et seq. of the Codified Ordinances to select outside counsel, because of the pending status of the said action and the need to immediately substitute new counsel to meet court deadlines; and WHEREAS, Section ll 1.08(a)(1) ofthe City's Codified Ordinances further provides that Council may authorize a personal services contract without compliance with the Request for Proposal process where the proposed maximum compensation is less than Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00), and it is the expectation of the Director of Law that this representation will involve compensation less than that amount; and WHEREAS, it is accordingly the desire of this Council to authorize the Director of Law to retain outside counsel to substitute as counsel for the Director of Law in the aforesaid case, and further to authorize the Mayor to enter into a contract with the Law Firm of Walter & Haverfield, LLP, in order to provide said outside legal services as recommended by the Director of Law; -'? ?,- .. . . ..;e. . 4i:?..._.:.. ,. ? . .. - . . . . .