FAIRMONT — The Fairmont City Council has selected three law firms for further interviews for the city’s permanent civil attorney.

The council voted unanimously this week to notify the firm of Smith, Tollefson, Rahrick & Cass of Owatonna; the firm of Christian, Keogh, Moran & King of Le Center; and the city’s current interim civil counsel, Flaherty & Hood of St. Paul, of their plan to schedule interviews sometime in April, depending on the COVID-19 pandemic situation.

Like many other issues, council members have been divided on the attorney decision. Wayne Hasek and Bruce Peters have supported offering Flaherty & Hood the permanent job because of the city’s history in working with the firm and because it offers a variety of specialized lawyers, including those in labor relations.

Ruth Cyphers, Randy Lubenow and Tom Hawkins have pushed for hiring a new firm, stating different reasons. Cyphers has said she has never been a fan of Flaherty & Hood and believes it has not been accurate with its legal advice. Lubenow has commented on the cost of having the St. Paul attorneys travel to the Fairmont council meetings. Hawkins advocated rebidding for civil services when the initial bid process did not include any firms from the Mankato or New Ulm area.

The city has been without a permanent civil attorney since April 15, 2019, when the council voted to end the employment of in-house attorney Elizabeth Bloomquist. Since that time, the Martin County Attorney has taken over the city’s criminal cases on a permanent basis, and Flaherty & Hood was hired as interim civil counsel.

About 50 firms were sent requests for bids in the extended bidding process. Eight firms, none of them local, submitted bids. On March 2, the council cut the list in half to the top four candidates.

Last week, Troy Nemmers, city engineer/public works director; Mark Sievert, interim city attorney; and Hawkins met with the Kennedy & Kennedy firm of Mankato, the Smith firm and the Christian firm. Mayor Debbie Foster joined the group for the first two interviews while Randy Lubenow was present for the last firm interviewed.

On Monday, the council members and city staff shared their impressions of the law firms and eliminated Kennedy & Kennedy from the running due to a potential conflict of interest and hourly fees. During the visit to the law firm, the attorney revealed that he had spoken to Fairmont citizens regarding concerns over the previous city attorney and city administrator. Although Hawkins felt it was “a pretty minor conflict,” the firm’s $200 per hour fee was much higher than the other candidates.

Sievert noted that the three remaining firms all have experience in municipal law, but the city might need to seek outside counsel for labor relations.

This led Hasek to again push to retain Flaherty & Hood permanently since the firm has a labor relations specialist.

“Why don’t we just stay with them?” Hasek asked.

“Because we’re going through a process right now,” Foster said.

“You made it clear for six weeks, Wayne, you and Bruce, so at least listen for now,” Hawkins said.

The Smith firm was considered experienced and reasonable with a $150 per hour fee. Nemmers ranked them as his top choice because of the depth of experience on different issues, while Foster also rated them her first choice.

Hawkins and Sievert ranked the Christian law firm as their top choice, with Hawkins favoring its “no muss, no fuss” attitude and its experience in dealing with conflicts in other cities. At $125 per hour, Lubenow also supported the firm because it was cheaper than what the city is paying Flaherty & Hood, $145 per hour.

Cyphers suggested calling the Smith and Christian firms in for additional interviews with the entire council, but Foster requested adding Flaherty & Hood to the list.

“I don’t know why we wouldn’t (interview Flaherty & Hood). It would be interesting to hear what he’s got to say now that he’s had experience with us,” Foster said.

On a motion from Lubenow with a second from Hawkins, the council unanimously voted to ask Flaherty & Hood, the Smith firm and the Christian firm to come to Fairmont for another interview. The meetings will be scheduled when more information is available about public gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic.