A Wildwood City Council meeting saw as many as 12 people in close quarters. Turns out, they weren't required to meet at all. So, why didn't the mayor tell them?

WILDWOOD, Mo. — Even with coronavirus concerns on the rise, local governments and leaders must continue to do their jobs while social distancing.

But some Wildwood city leaders said the mayor's recent actions fly in the face of all city and state guidance during the pandemic. They also question whether Mayor Jim Bowlin's been given too much power over the enforcement of city laws.

"It put a lot of us at risk. It put our families at risk. It put everyone else we come in contact with on a daily basis at risk for no reason," said Kevin Dillard, Ward 3 City Council member in Wildwood.

Dillard is talking about a Wildwood City Council meeting from last Monday.

More than ten people gathering together in a time when all official guidance is advising against it. Some council members did appear at the meeting via video conference, but not all felt they had that option.

"We were told by the city that a physical quorum of nine people had to be present to conduct city business," said Dillard. "There were times social distancing was completely ignored. I mean people were like head to head."





Dillard said the meeting was an unnecessary risk, since just six days before, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt ruled local governments could hold "remote meetings." Schmitt went on to say, "The Sunshine Law provides means for public governmental bodies to conduct public meetings in alternative ways, such as via video conference, online meeting and telephone conference."

"It's uncomfortable going into a place when you don't need to be there in a time of a pandemic when government of all levels are telling us to avoid public gatherings if at all possible," said Dillard.

"It was a fluid situation," said Mayor Jim Bowlin. He admitted he knew about the attorney general's guidance hours before the meeting but decided to move forward regardless. Bowlin says he did use multiple rooms to separate people who attended last Monday's council meeting.

"We did comply with all the rules and handled it as best we could to keep government running for our residents," said Bowlin. "Wildwood has an ordinance that was passed many years ago that requires two council meetings a month."

The I-Team is still waiting to hear whether the attorney general's guidance supersedes municipal ordinances regarding meeting schedules.

At Monday's meeting, the council also gave Bowlin the power to stop enforcing city laws while dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. Dillard questioned whether that's needed.

"It's very unusual. It doesn't need to be just one person making that determination," said Dillard, who claimed Bowlin hasn't told him what, if any, ordinances, he may suspend.

"If I decide to take action pursuant to the resolution, I will definitely notify the council," Bowlin told 5 On Your Side on Wednesday.

We asked Bowling if he anticipated using his new power to halt the enforcement of any ordinances.

"Not at this time," Bowlin said.

Despite orders from Missouri Governor Mike Parson barring the gathering of more than 10 people, Mayor Bowlin told the I-Team he plans to continue to hold city council meetings at least once a month for the public. He said he'll limit the number of people inside City Hall.