Olney once more requires metropolis lawyer’s ouster

WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – Metropolis councilman Cliff Olney is once more saying metropolis lawyer Robert Slye must be changed.

To which Slye responded Tuesday: “If he will get three votes, he wins.”

“I’d prefer to put a decision up for town council to determine if we will herald new authorized counsel and begin afresh with someone who simply provides us authorized opinions concerning the info and never essentially his extra political recommendation,” Olney stated Tuesday.

He’s ready to see how a lot help he can get.

As of now, Olney doesn’t have the three votes on metropolis council it could take to take away Slye.

Final spring, Olney known as for Slye’s ouster.

This outing, Olney’s not pleased with the best way Slye questioned Michael Lundy, majority proprietor of the Watertown Golf Membership.

Lundy has taken the primary steps towards suing town, Olney and council member Lisa Ruggiero over council’s choice to now not enable parking on land just under the golf course membership home.

As a part of the authorized preliminaries, Slye questioned Lundy for about an hour again in June.

Throughout the questioning, Slye identified the council has a proper to not enable parking, and particular person council members have a proper to vote as they select.

However Olney says Slye ought to have gone additional, ought to have instructed Lundy that town by no means had the proper to permit parking there within the first place, as a result of the deed which gave town Thompson Park expressly forbids industrial use of the property.

“What I want is somebody who’s going to present me good authorized recommendation, not a political opinion. And what I feel has occurred with this complete state of affairs, with Golfgate, is that this has been a political opinion to accommodate sure people within the metropolis,” Olney stated Tuesday.

Olney stated metropolis officers have identified for years the land in query was metropolis property, they usually merely let the golf membership use it.

However Slye says he didn’t know the land in query was metropolis property till a survey was completed.

“I personally was not conscious that property was a part of the park,” Slye stated.

As for the questioning of Lundy, “I feel plenty of the questions that had been requested by Mr. Slye, our lawyer, had been softball, and I’ve heard the time period ‘patty cake’ used to explain the interview,” Olney stated.

However Slye stated at this early stage in a possible lawsuit, the questioning is just not as adversarial as it may be in later levels.

“In case you’ve by no means completed it, you wouldn’t perceive,” he stated.

Mayor Jeff Smith is a tough ‘no’ on the query of changing Slye.

“I feel Bob Slye does an amazing job representing town. Councilman Olney, I don’t know the place he obtained his legislation diploma to counsel that Mr. Slye is just not an excellent lawyer,” Smith stated Tuesday.

The mayor stated Olney “has a gripe towards Bob as a result of Mr. Simao does. I really feel he has to do the bidding of the one that supported him in his marketing campaign.”

The reference is to Ives Hill Nation Membership proprietor P.J. Simao, who has for years argued town provides Watertown Golf Membership unfair benefits.

Olney denies he’s engaged on behalf of Simao.

Council member Lisa Ruggiero proposed a compromise Tuesday, doing an annual efficiency evaluate of town lawyer, as council now does for town supervisor and metropolis clerk.

“Which may assist handle some issues folks have,” she stated.

Regardless of town dis-allowing the usage of the parking space, folks nonetheless use it. There have been dozens of vehicles and vehicles parked within the disputed space Tuesday, whereas a golf match was happening.

“Whether or not or not it’s at Live performance in The Park, whether or not or not it’s at a Pleasure occasion, whether or not they’re utilizing the splash pad or the pool, it’s not simply golfers. Eerybody’s utilizing it and you must deal with all people equally and pretty and you’ll’t go after one group,” Smith stated.

“I feel that’s an excellent factor up there that individuals are using the park.”

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