Sparks flew Friday afternoon at the CLN board of trustee meeting when their director, Alexa Eccles, brought hired counsel to the meeting where the board agenda included an action item to hire a law firm. Eccles appears to have acted outside her authority when unilaterally hiring Mike Gridley, a Coeur d’Alene attorney who has an active lawsuit against North Idaho College. The power move created frustration amongst the trustees. The board chair, Rachelle Ottosen, believed the director’s action was intended to thwart the board’s authority.
Approximately an hour into the meeting, Eccles proceeded to publicly share private contract negotiations between herself and the law firm the board had previously directed her to engage, Boyles Law. Trustee Tim Plass took exception to what he said was character assassination of Colton Boyles and invited Boyles to address the board.
By the end of the meeting, the board ended the director’s act to hire Mike Gridley and moved forward with Boyles Law as CLN’s general counsel. Katie Blank was the sole “nay” vote.
As a side note, the library staff continues to use limited spaces for public meetings, which restricts the public’s ability to attend their meetings in person. Two former trustees, Regina McCrea and Bob Fish, were accommodated with seats for the meeting while members of the public had trouble finding seating for the meeting.
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