Council told it cannot hold a closed "shade" meeting on Fisherman's Village unless it is a party to litigation

Vice Mayor Janine Polk asked the council whether it could hold a closed "shade" meeting to discuss strategy related to Fisherman's Village, saying she had recently met with potential buyers who attended with an attorney and was concerned about making public comments that might affect the city's legal position. "Can we have a shade meeting, in order to discuss strategy moving forward with Fisherman's Village?" Polk asked.

The City Attorney (functional title inferred from the record) replied, "Short answer is no," explaining that a shade meeting to discuss litigation strategy is allowed only when the city is a party to pending litigation. The attorney added that the city was not currently a party and that threatened litigation by a bank or as part of a sale could change that status; "we were on the verge of becoming a party in the lawsuit because if a sale goes through, they have to get approval by the courts," the attorney said, noting the circumstance in which the council could become involved.

Polk told colleagues she had met with potential buyers and their attorney and had deliberately limited what she said during that meeting to avoid jeopardizing the city's position: "I just aware that it's very dangerous for us to be meeting them with their now attorney ... I didn't wanna make any, statements that could potentially affect us later on down the road, so I just kinda zipped it." Council members discussed seeking clarity before taking any closed-session action; the attorney said they would look into the matter and try to provide an answer by Wednesday.

No formal action or vote was recorded in the transcript. The attorney characterized the question as dependent on whether the city later becomes a party to litigation connected to any sale or court approval; councilmembers suggested including the city manager and city attorney in meetings with outside parties to avoid inadvertent statements. The issue will be revisited when the attorney and staff return with a recommendation or clarification.