University Park hires two law firms: one for administrators, the other for trustees
University Park will now have two law firms: one to work with the mayor and village manager and the other to work with the trustees.
The Village Board decided Tuesday to keep Odelson, Murphey, Frazier & McGrath to work with the village as corporate counsel to work with Mayor Joseph Roudez and village manager Elizabeth Scott on municipal business.
Montana Welch was hired as legislative counsel, which means the law firm will work with the trustees to better understand agendas and ordinances, said Trustees Theo Brooks and Donna Fulcher.
“The trustees, myself, Donna Fulcher, Gina Williams and Jewell Thompson, we felt that, considering things that happened in the past, we wanted to make sure we had our own attorney to make sure everything is aboveboard,” Brooks said.
After the meeting, Roudez directed questions to attorney Felicia Frazier, who directed questions to Matthew Welch. Burt Odelson did not immediately return calls for comment.
Welch said he was pleased his law firm was hired.
“We’re looking forward to working for the best interest of the board and the residents,” he said.
During a May 25 special meeting, which was not attended by Roudez and Trustees Janelle McFadden and Karen Lewis, the board tabled a motion to immediately dismiss Odelson, Murphey, Frazier & McGrath as village attorney and appoint Montana Welch instead.
Because both law firms have history with the village, Brooks said the board and village officials ultimately decided to hire both.
“This was a collaboration with the board and the village manager to make sure that everyone is represented,” Fulcher said. “We’re happy the board moved forward with this process.”
Both firms agreed to be paid $185 an hour, Brooks said. The trustees “won’t rack up a bill” working with Montana and Welch, but will call the law firm when questions arise, he said.
Fulcher said the two firms will work on separate items on behalf of the village so at no point will attorneys with each firm be paid for doing the same task. The board will receive monthly reports to track what work was completed and at what cost.
As an example, Fulcher said the board could send Montana Welch an agenda if they have questions about asking for additional information about an agenda item. Or, she said, the board might ask Montana Welch for guidance if it does not receive requested information.
Brooks pointed to the Amazon deal, in which the village did not get many incentives and owes $1 million in impact fees, as an instance in which the trustees could have used outside counsel to answer questions.
The Amazon development is in a tax increment financing district, in which property taxes to school, park and library districts, the village, the county and other taxing districts are frozen at current levels for a number of years, in this case 20. Any increase in taxes as a result of development, the increment, goes into a special fund to help pay or reimburse for improvements.
Village official’s agreed to share those TIF funds with the developer and Amazon, with Amazon receiving 75% of the funds, and the village will receiving the remaining 25%. The village would use its share to reimburse the $1 million in impact fees the developer is paying upfront.
Brooks said the Amazon deal could have been approached in a different way to ensure the village benefited more. If that deal, or a similar deal, were brought to the board today, Brooks said he’d call Montana Welch to get their input.
“The sense of satisfaction we have is picking up the phone and having our counsel,” Brooks said. “We hope in the future we won’t have to worry about these things.”
