Council turns down gun club check

After a lengthy discussion, the McCook City Council decided to decline a $27,666.68 check from the McCook Gun Club by 3 to 2, with two council members contending the donation was legitimate.

Mayor Dennis Berry opened up the discussion and said although he appreciated the offer, it was not the responsibility of the Gun Club to pick up the salary portion of the severance package of former City Manger John Bingham.

Councilman Kenny agreed, saying it would be a conflict of interest.

But Councilman Aaron Kircher disagreed, and said that he trusted that the Gun Club and the City Council would be able to keep the issues separate.

"I have faith in the council members -- and in myself -- that the Gun Club would get treated just the same," he said. The Gun Cub is expecting nothing in return for this money, he said.

Mayor Berry said that wasn't the point. Rather, the money had been offered only if a city employee was removed, and although the subsequent decision to terminate the city manager was not based on that offer, it would set a bad precedent by accepting it.

Councilman Kircher then asked Darrell Brown, who was present at the meeting and representing the Gun Club, if the club was still willing to donate the money. Brown responded yes, as they had felt threatened by a letter sent to them by Bingham.

Councilman Lyons questioned whether they were threatened by Bingham or the McCook Economic Development Corp., which had requested that Bingham inform the club that the EDC was interested in the property that the Gun Club uses for a shooting range, for a possible helicopter plant.

He asked if the Gun Club would feel threatened if the next City Manager sent them a letter about the property.

Councilmen Longnecker and Kircher are on the Board of Directors of the EDC, councilman Lyons said, and knew exactly what the EDC was doing.

Longnecker suggested that the Gun Club take the money back and donate it for a skate park, which Councilman Kenny agreed was a good idea.

"This money would be better spent on your projects," he recommended.

Ken Vontz, speaking from the audience, said if the Gun Club would be requested to move in the future, the money could be used for relocation expenses.

"I won't tell you what to do, but my position is that the city should bear the cost," Mayor Berry repeated.

Councilman Lyons agreed that Gun Club should be allowed to do as they wished with their money, and that they had just stated they wanted to donate the money to the city.

Mayor Berry clarified that the money was donated as the club had felt threatened, and that it was basically "buying" the city out.

"This is not a good deal for the city," he said. "It will open the door for other people who think they can 'buy' their way out."

No one has ever bought out the council, Councilman Kircher maintained. Rather, the council comes to their own conclusions on matters, and, "bottom line, (the Gun Club) wants to do this."

Councilman Longnecker compared the acceptance of the money to "cooking the books."

"You can call it anything you want," he said, "But if we take the money, it would appear as if we were accepting money for what we did. My integrity won't allow me to do this."

Kircher replied that Longnecker's original suggestion of donating the money to a skate park was in essence the same thing as "cooking the books."

Richard Stull, another audience member, recommended that the council ask the representatives of the Gun Club if they would have offered the money if Bingham was still City Manager. Brown answered that there would have been no check if Bingham had not been terminated.

Longnecker declared that the donation did come with strings attached -- Bingham was terminated -- which Councilman Lyons refuted, as "at this point, there are no strings attached."

Councilmen Lyons and Kircher both voted to accept the check, with Mayor Berry and Councilmen Kenny and Longnecker voting against it.

The check was then returned to Brown by Public Works director and co-interim city manager Kyle Potthoff.

Later, during Council Comments, Councilman Kircher expressed his disappointment that the council had turned down the donation, because "we're worried how it will make us look."

"It's too bad we don't have enough faith in ourselves," he said.