Arnold Council Selects New City Attorney as Resident Presses City Over Long-Delayed Road Work
The Arnold City Council approved a new city attorney Thursday night, ending a months long selection process, while a longtime resident used the meeting to raise another issue that has stretched on for years: deteriorating streets and delayed stormwater improvements in the Arnold Terrace subdivision.
The two discussions highlighted very different kinds of city business, but both centered on a question residents often bring to City Hall: how long should they have to wait for change?
Resident Says Road Improvements Have Been Delayed for Years
During business from the floor, Arnold resident addressed the council about the Little Money Creek stormwater and road project, including work affecting Arnold Terrace.
He said residents had originally been told street resurfacing would occur in early 2022, but the road work was delayed because storm sewer improvements needed to be completed first.
He said he has been discussing the project with city officials since around March and had recently been told bids could go out in late November or early December. However, he said he was now being told there was not enough money in the current budget to complete the entire project, with Arnold Terrace toward the end of the planned work.
He told council members the roughly 60-year-old neighborhood has waited long enough.
He said that if funding is not available in the current budget, residents fear work in their portion of the subdivision may not begin until late 2027 or even early 2028.
Later in the meeting, City Administrator Anthony Traxler responded directly to the resident's concerns.
Traxler acknowledged the lengthy delays and said obtaining easements had contributed to the problem. He said those delays ultimately resulted in substantially higher project costs, forcing the city to divide the project.
“That led to significant increase in costs. That’s why we had to cut the projects basically in half,” Traxler said.
Traxler said city officials had intended to move forward on the timeline previously discussed before updated estimates were incorporated into the budget.
“I understand your frustration. I apologize for that. There was no intent to mislead.”
Traxler said the city plans to change how it handles similar situations in the future in an effort to move the easement process more quickly.
Arnold Selects Wegmann Law Firm
The council also approved Resolution 26-42, employing Wegmann Law Firm to provide legal services for the city and appointing Mark Bishop as city attorney.
The selection came after what Traxler described as a four to five-month process. Nine firms or individuals initially expressed interest, seven firms and two individual attorneys. An interview committee narrowed that field to six candidates before three finalists were brought to the full council.
The vote was 6-1 with one abstention.
Councilman Brad Cary cast the lone opposing vote.
Cary said he agreed that moving away from the Sweeney Law Firm was necessary but did not believe the recommended replacement provided the capacity Arnold needs.
“My vote was not about a single individual, rather a capacity concern,” Cary said.
He noted Wegmann Law Firm had previously represented Arnold for approximately nine months in 2009 and questioned whether one primary attorney could keep up with Arnold’s volume of municipal codes, development projects, zoning matters, document reviews, and meetings while maintaining other outside responsibilities.
Cary said Arnold, as the largest municipality in Jefferson County, should have a legal structure that reflects the city’s size.
“Our community deserves a robust legal framework that matches our status,” Cary said.
Councilman E.J. Fleischman took a different position.
Fleischman acknowledged that Wegmann was not his preferred finalist but said council members had gone through an extensive process and it was time to move forward.
“The Wegmann Law Firm was not my first choice,” Fleischman said. “But again, I had to trust the process.”
Fleischman said residents have expressed a desire for a different perspective and new ideas and emphasized that the relationship with the new attorney will require open communication between council members and legal counsel.
“Moving in this direction, I think, is the right way, and I look forward to some of these changes,” he said.
Councilman Michael Rother said the three finalists were all strong choices and described the decision as extremely close.
Rother said his recommendation of Wegmann was based primarily on fiscal responsibility, transparency, accessibility, and the firm’s history and experience in Jefferson County.
“All three were highly qualified candidates and would have served our city well,” Rother said.
Councilman Michael Rethmeyer abstained.
Rethmeyer said he had not been present for the interviews with the finalists and therefore did not believe he had enough information to fairly cast a yes or no vote.
“I’m going to abstain for one reason. I wasn’t present for the interviews,” Rethmeyer said.
The resolution ultimately passed with six yes votes, Cary voting no and Rethmeyer abstaining.
Other Council Business
The council also approved a preliminary plat for St. Evans Subdivision at the end of East Highview Drive. The proposal includes four home sites and common ground, with additional engineering review still required for items including stormwater infrastructure.
Council members also approved an ordinance creating a refund of the city’s gross-receipts utility tax for Lone Dell Elementary School and Simpson Elementary School, which were recently annexed into Arnold. City staff estimated the tax would otherwise amount to approximately $11,800 annually for the two schools.
The council approved the purchase of four radar units for the Arnold Police Department and equipment for six police vehicles. The radar purchase totaled $14,184, while the vehicle equipment purchase totaled $105,336.
Council members also approved replacement filters connected with ongoing indoor pool renovations after existing filters were found to have cracking and delamination that officials said made them unsafe to return to service.
Earlier in the meeting, Mayor William Moritz provided an update on changes related to the city’s transportation development districts, including updated TIF reporting, changes in TDD board membership and efforts to separate TDD bookkeeping from city operations.
For Arnold Terrace residents, the discussion made clear that the long-awaited road and stormwater project is still moving forward, but the city’s updated cost estimates mean at least part of the work will take longer than residents had hoped. Meanwhile, Arnold will begin a new chapter in its legal representation following the council’s approval of Wegmann Law Firm and Mark Bishop as city attorney.
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