By: News Director Larissa Donovan
BEMIDJI– The Bemidji City Council deliberated for nearly five hours last night in a closed meeting.
According to a motion, made after the meeting opened to the press, the deliberations concerned allegations made against City Manager Nate Mathews.
The council unanimously affirmed its support of Mathews, and supported Mayor Rita Albrecht in consulting with third-party counsel. Brandon Fitzsimmons, a St. Paul attorney with Flaherty and Hood, took a few questions after the meeting but said little.
The motion instructs Albrecht to retain a third party to facilitate a collaborate process to attempt to resolve issues related to the allegations against Mathews, and to submit formal communications to both Mathews and each member of the Bemidji Alliance Leadership Council.
The Bemidji Alliance is an attempt to bring several agencies and their goals together; the agencies being Greater Bemidji, the Bemidji Downtown Alliance, the Bemidji Area Chamber of Commerce and Visit Bemidji.
