51黑料

The lawsuit alleges former Normandy officials violated state law in 2020 by signing the contract with Simmons Bank without a proper council vote or public disclosure.

It asks a judge to void the loan, the principal of which is currently valued at around $868,000.

The bank has refused to negotiate, the city says, and has frozen $644,000 in a city savings account as collateral.

Mayor Mark Beckmann said the deal, signed by his predecessor, should never have been made.

鈥淭here is a process that must be followed and those processes weren鈥檛 followed,鈥� Beckmann said in an interview.

Simmons Bank spokesman Ed Bilek declined comment.

The lawsuit by Normandy is only the latest example in 51黑料 County of a government contract dispute leading to a court battle.

In Jennings, a construction company is suing the city for $1.7 million in costs it says it incurred after the city breached a contract to build a new $11 million city hall and community center. Mayor Gary Johnson ordered city staff to cancel the project despite a council majority voting to authorize it, with both factions fighting over the issue for months.

The Robertson Fire Protection District鈥檚 new board is suing to void a contract with the firefighters union greenlighted by its predecessors, who were recalled by voters in 2022. The new board won a lawsuit in December after a judge agreed a former fire chief鈥檚 contract violated state law because it wasn鈥檛 disclosed or included in board meeting minutes when it was approved.

In Normandy, the lawsuit comes after a long period of political tumult and gridlock, largely between two warring political factions led by Beckmann and his predecessor, Maurice Hunt, that left the city unable to pay bills and run city business.

鈥榃e were in a bind鈥�

The lawsuit revisits a failed plan to sell city hall to a developer and move government offices across the street.

It was 2019. The developer Pearl Companies had proposed a $60 million mixed-use development adjacent to the neighboring University of Missouri-51黑料 South MetroLink station.

The next January, Hunt was appointed mayor pro tem to replace longtime mayor Patrick Green, who resigned suddenly after 10 years in office.

On Nov. 6, 2020, Hunt signed a $935,000 loan with Simmons Bank to help finance the purchase of the former Austin A. Layne mortuary, at 7733 Natural Bridge Road, across the street from city hall. As collateral, Normandy signed over a deed to city hall, as well as a Simmons Bank savings account with $750,000.

In December of that year, the city closed on the purchase for $1.2 million 鈥� about $200,000 more than the appraisal price.

In 2021, Beckmann unseated Hunt, who remained on the council. For the next year, the two feuded. They held separate meetings. Hunt tried to impeach Beckmann. And city business ground to a halt.

Hunt said then that the developer鈥檚 plan fell apart during COVID-19, leaving the city on the hook to buy the mortuary as well as pay off the mortgage. He blamed Beckmann for letting the mortuary sit unused.

Then, in April 2022, Hunt and two supporters lost reelection to the council.

Last week, Normandy filed suit to get out of the loan.

Beckmann said his administration was only able to revisit the purchase after the council infighting ended.

鈥淲e started to get our books in order, and we were in a bind with this building,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e wanted to know, 鈥楬ow did this happen?鈥欌��

The suit says that the deal was never properly authorized by the city.

Running out of cash

On Sept. 8, 2020, the council fast-tracked a bill to buy the funeral home. But the bill did not make any mention of a loan agreement, the lawsuit says. And council members were supposed to unanimously agree to suspend their rules, and then vote twice on the bill鈥檚 passage.

They voted twice. But the minutes don鈥檛 show that they unanimously agreed to.

Then, at a Sept. 28, 2020, meeting, the council lacked a fifth member required to establish quorum, the suit says. But one of the absent council members, Lelia Martin, was nonetheless marked down as having voted to approve the purchase of the mortuary.

And the city鈥檚 official copy of the council bill contained no record of Martin having voted at all.

The ordinance enacting the purchase of the mortuary said it was approved Oct. 29. The loan agreement says the city agreed to its terms on Nov. 6. But the city couldn鈥檛 find any record of either council meeting, the lawsuit says.

Hunt said in a recent interview that he had 鈥渘o recollection鈥� of the meetings over the loan agreement and building purchase and was unaware of the recent lawsuit.

鈥淚 haven鈥檛 thought about anything dealing with the City of Normandy for two years,鈥� Hunt said.

Martin, the former councilwoman, could not be reached for comment, nor could council members Rick Nelson and Tony Evans, who minutes show voted on the purchase.

Beckmann said this week that it would cost about $4 million to renovate the mortuary building into a new city hall and police department, a cost the city can鈥檛 afford. The city wanted to issue bonds to fund the project but couldn鈥檛, Beckmann said, because it hadn鈥檛 been audited for years, until 2022.

Then the city tried to sell the building for more than a year 鈥� listed at $650,000 鈥� but couldn鈥檛 find a buyer, he said. The building, while attractive, needs repairs to the roof, plumbing and parking lot that the city can鈥檛 afford to pay.

The suit asks Simmons to unfreeze the money in the city savings account and return $221,000 in interest and principal already paid on the loan.

If the suit fails, Beckmann says Normandy will run out of cash to pay the debt in October.

But he said he was confident the city would prevail.

鈥淲e鈥檙e in a solid position,鈥� he said.