Lynch Contract Terminated, But Still Under Discussion

Brianna Gibbs/KMXT
The Kodiak Island Borough Assembly met last night for a work session to discuss potential agenda items for next week’s meeting. One item on the list for discussion was a possible reconsideration of the contract between the Kodiak Island Borough and Kodiak Construction Services, a company owned and operated by Assemblywoman Chris Lynch. The contract between Lynch and the borough raised questions among some assembly members about conflict of interest during last Thursday’s regular meeting and the contract’s suspension was put to a vote during last week’s regular meeting but failed when some assembly members expressed concerns that the action was premature and the contract needed further discussion. Following last week’s regular meeting, however, Lynch made the decision to terminate the contract, but Assemblyman Jerrol Friend still wanted the reconsideration on next week’s agenda.

— (KIB Work Session 1 :24 “Amend the motion and make it public that we stopped the contract, that we don’t do any further business with the contract at that time. So that’s what I would like to reconsider and I wish I had made the amendment to the motion in that effect before we got into this spot but I think that’s what I’d like to see us do. That way it puts it out publicly that we’ve ended the contract instead of little memos in this house and in this group, that the contract has been ended.”)

Mayor Jerome Selby said the reconsideration doesn’t make sense because if it passes and the motion is brought back to the assembly it will be over a contract that has already been terminated. Assemblyman Mel Stephens disagreed and said the language of the original motion wasn’t termination.
— (KIB Work Session 2 :18 “Well the motion was not a motion to terminate the contract it was to suspend the contract so as to freeze any further payments on the contract or any further payments on the contract until there was action by the assembly.”)

He said the contract does appear to have been terminated, but nothing he’s seen has suggested that payments will freeze.
— (KIB Work Session 3 :22 “Indeed it implied the opposite, that there were invoices or invoice pending and the motion, if the motion passes, will freeze payment on that invoice until such time as there is further action by the assembly.”)

Assemblyman Tuck Bonney said he would stand by his decision during last week’s meeting and vote against the motion if it were brought back for reconsideration.
— (KIB Work Session 4 :27 “I will be voting no. I thought it was the right vote last week and I still think it’s the right vote. One, when we put a PO out at the plant we are obligated to pay that PO, that’s a promissory no. And you can’t just say well we want to change things and we don’t want to pay up. That won’t work. I’ve said it before I’ll say it again we need to change the code, we need to work on the code, I don’t like this and I’m going to vote no.”)

The reconsideration of the motion will be put to the vote during next Thursday’s regular meeting. If the reconsideration passes then the original motion to suspend the contract and payments with Kodiak Construction Services will be brought to assembly for a second vote, despite Lynch having already terminated the contract.

###