March 29, 2024 |
Photo – Rawlins City Hall – Bigfoot99 file photo
Two disputed public records requests prompted the Rawlins city council to retain outside legal services during a special meeting Tuesday night.
During the March 19th Rawlins city council meeting, Interim City Attorney Pinita Maberry-Nave said the city was presented with two separate lawsuits. One complaint, Attorney Maberry-Nave said, is from Dirty Boyz owner Rose Cain. The other lawsuit is from Criminal Defense Lawyer John Hummel.
On March 14th, Rose Cain and her company, Dirty Boyz Sanitation Service, filed a lawsuit in Carbon County District Court against the city. Cain alleges that she had to wait too long and was charged an unreasonable amount of money for a public records request.
Cain’s lawsuit stems from a 2022 dispute between the trash hauler and the city of Rawlins. Mayor Weickum alleged that Dirty Boyz violated city ordinance by transporting municipal waste to a Colorado landfill. Cain claimed that the garbage was her company’s property and could be handled as she saw fit.
On November 15th, 2022, the sitting Rawlins city council did not agree with Cain’s argument. In a 4 to 2 decision, the council voted to revoke Dirty Boyz Sanitation Services’ license to haul garbage.
Three days later, during a special session, the Rawlins city council reversed course and voted to restore the trash hauler’s license.
In her recent complaint, Cain states that on August 3rd, 2023, she made a public records request for all correspondence, text messages, and emails related to Dirty Boyz Sanitation from Rawlins Mayor Terry Weickum, Councilman Chris Weisenburg, and former council members Debari Martinez and Linda Smith from the time of the garbage hauler’s license dispute.
According to Wyoming state statute 16-4-204(a), the city had 30 days to comply with Cain’s request. In her lawsuit, Cain states that it took Interim City Attorney Maberry-Nave 50 days to provide the requested documents and that the city charged her $6,088.50 for the information. Cain also states that she was denied access to the personal cell phone data of Mayor Weickum and council members Weissenburg, Martinez, and Smith.
Cain’s complaint states that in the 50 days between the time she made her records request and when she received the information, the city amended its administrative fees.
The new fees are based on the amount of time it takes employees to obtain and compile the information. Having the interim city attorney process the records request increased the amount Cain was required to pay. According to court documents, 97% of what the Dirty Boyz owner was charged for the records request was for “professional time.”
Cain’s attorneys, Laramie-based Galvan and Fritzen, are requesting that the Carbon County District Court refund the fees for the records request and force the city to release the private cell phone records from the council members. The legal firm is also asking the court to force the city to pay for Cain’s attorney’s fees.
The second lawsuit the city is facing comes from Criminal Defense Lawyer John Hummel. In his complaint, Hummel alleges that the city unlawfully denied his public records request in a criminal drug case.
On December 26th of 2023, Hummel, on behalf of his client, Rawlins resident Anthony Covolo, submitted a public records request for information about Rawlins Police Officer Sergeant Christopher Craig and his drug-sniffing dog, K9 Officer Riggs.
Three months earlier, in September of 2023, Covolo was stopped by Officer Craig for a motor vehicle infraction. During the traffic stop, K9 Officer Riggs alerted to the presence of drugs in Covolo’s vehicle. Covolo was arrested and charged with misdemeanor drug violations.
In his lawsuit against the city of Rawlins, Attorney Hummel alleges that he was unlawfully denied the training documents for K9 Officer Riggs. The city claims that the drug-sniffing dog’s records are exempt from Wyoming’s public records law.
Hummel brought his complaint to the state’s Public Records Ombudsman, who did not overturn the city’s denial.
Hummel, in his written complaint, states that a dog is not a person, and therefore, the state must release K9 Officer Riggs’ personal records.
On Tuesday, March 26th, the city of Rawlins filed a motion to dismiss Hummel’s lawsuit. The city’s motion claims that Riggs is an employee of the city and the dog’s personal records are subject to the same protections as a human police officer.
On Tuesday evening, the Rawlins city council met for a special meeting. After approving the agenda, the council went into an executive session. After the council reconvened, Vice Mayor Steve Sanger motioned to enter into a legal representation agreement with Casper-based Williams, Porter, Day, and Neville Law Firm. Councilman Bruce Seilaff seconded Sanger’s motion. Mayor Terry Weickum repeated the motion before it was brought up for a vote.
The motion passed. The city council then voted to have Mayor Weickum sign the legal representation agreement.
