NEWBURYPORT — The City Council will have a busy Monday, as in addition to its regularly scheduled meeting at 7 p.m., it will be holding a special meeting at 6 p.m. to potentially approve a new city solicitor.
Former city solicitor Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP had been a source of much contention between Reardon and the previous session of City Council, with the council often citing its distrust of the solicitor’s opinions regarding matters including former HR Director Donna Drelick and the proposed Kmart project.
The new firm proposed by Mayor Sean Reardon is Anderson & Kreiger LLP.
Partners for the Boston-based firm, Mina Makarious and Nina Pickering-Cook, submitted a statement introducing themselves to councilors.
“A&K has an extensive and long-standing municipal and public law practice. Since its founding in 1985. A&K has grown to a firm of 45 lawyers with real estate, litigation, environmental, construction, insurance, internal investigations, and other practices that complement our municipal work,” the statement reads.
It continues to state that currently the firm serves as town counsel in seven towns; Acton, Bedford, Belmont, Concord, Dover, Ipswich and Lexington.
“While we currently only represent Massachusetts cities as special counsel, and not city solicitors, we believe our experience working for similarly sized communities and with boards and commissions in a variety of different contexts will serve the City well,” the statement reads.
The full statement can be found on the city website.
Council President Heather Shand explained the reasoning behind hosting a special meeting.
“We opted to hold a special meeting ahead of our regular council session to vote on approving a new city solicitor on Feb. 9, rather than waiting until our March 2 meeting,” Shand said.
She said she has not had the chance yet to speak to the firm personally, but shared that at-large Councilor Cameron had participated in the interview process in the fall and “felt they were very responsive to questions.”
At-large Councilor Ben Harman said he is looking for to the formal introduction of the firm and learning more about the attorneys proposed to serve as lead counsel for Newburyport.
“I had a brief opportunity to consult last week with Mina Makarious on a specific question, which was helpful and offered insight into the firm’s responsiveness and municipal experience. I look forward to the discussion at the special meeting and to hearing from colleagues as we consider the appointment,” Harman said.
Regarding the regularly scheduled meeting for the night, the council is set to accept a number of gifts and grants, including a $500,000 Brown School Housing Choice Grant, $50,000 from the Waterfront Trust for boardwalk rehabilitation, and $220,000 as a charitable gift to the city from the Mayor Gayden W. Morrill Charitable Foundation, among others.
Reardon also suggested during the council’s previous meeting that he might have updates regarding the ongoing searches for a full-time DPS director as well as a new chief of staff.
Kim Turner is currently serving as the interim DPS director. Regarding chief of staff, Reardon has been without a one since Christian Cyr resigned in early December.