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Regular Council Meeting July 27, 2020 Page 5 Mayor Clifford reconvened City Council into open session at 6:44 p.m. A Motion to authorize a lawsuit against Essent PRMC with regard to the tax abatement agreement was made by Mayor Clifford and seconded by Council Member Pilgrim. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 20. Discuss and possibly approve a Resolution amending the Bylaws of the Paris Economic Development Corporation increasing the Board of Directors from five to seven members with one seat to be filled by a sitting Council Member nominated by the Paris Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors and approved by the City Council. (Pursuant to PEDC Bylaws Sec. 10.4, five votes will be required to pass this item) Mayor Clifford said when they took a vote they were unaware that State Law prohibited PEDC from appointing members to the board. He said the motion to increase the number to seven was not valid therefore they were bringing it back in order to make sure they were legal. Mayor Clifford said it would take five votes to pass this item. Council Member Pilgrim inquired if they could discuss item 21 first and City Attorney Stephanie Harris answered in the affirmative. A Motion to move item 21 up on the agenda for discussion purposes was made by Mayor Clifford and seconded by Council Member Portugal. Motion carried, 4 ayes — 2 nays, with Council Member Hughes and Stone casting the dissenting votes. Council Member Hughes said if item 20 did not pass that item 21 would be moot. Council Member Pilgrim inquired if they could combine the two items, and Ms. Harris answered in the affirmative but said the items would have to vote separately on the items. A Motion to combine items 20 and 21 was made by Mayor Clifford and seconded by Council Member Knox. Motion carried, 5 ayes — 1 nay, with Council Member Hughes casting the dissenting vote. Council Member Stone stated that she had always been opposed to having a Council Member on PEDC, because she saw a potential for conflicts of interest. She said she was against increasing the board from five to seven. Council Member Portugal said she believed increasing the number to seven was the right thing to do, because financial decisions pertaining to potentially millions of dollars should be made by more than three people, which was a quorum of the board. Council Member Knox spoke in support of increasing the number of board members from five to seven, and it was her idea to allow PEDC to select the Council Member they wanted to serve, as a compromise of PEDC not wanting a Council Member to serve at all. Council Member Pilgrim said he thought it was crazy to have to re -vote on something they had already determined at a previous meeting. He also said he did not believe there was a conflict of interest because the Council oversees PEDC. Mayor Clifford said he thought it was the right thing to do and pointed out that the City Council had no intention of appointing anyone other than who PEDC nominated, unless there were extraordinary circumstances. Following additional discussion, Mayor Clifford made a Motion to amend the Bylaws of the PEDC increasing the Board of Directors from five to seven members with one seat to be filled by a sitting Council Member nominated by the PEDC Board of Directors and approved by the City Council, and was seconded by Council Member Pilgrim. Motion failed, 4 ayes — 2 nays,