BOOK 19_1942-09-08 to 1945-05-07

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IJSft- V4W P°'*. Y City Attorney McCarthy stated that he did not believe it was a violation of the �I Charter because it has to be read in the trend of the times. The Charter was written•in 1929 and from 1929 to 1941, it was easy to find a home in Redwood �t City. He stated if. the a=icil accepted Mr. 1.4ead's statement that he had tried to find a home to live in in Redwood City and that he had been unable to do so, I� he did not feel that the council would be violating the Charter if they continQ ued Mr. Mead's appointment. He stated that the City Manager is not under civi_ =y� service, has no tenure in office and that the Charter does not compel a man to i buy a home in Redwood City. He stated that if Mr. Mead was fortunate enough } to be able to rent a home, he would have no assurance that he would not be evicted in ninety days inasmuch as it is impossible to wake -long term leases today. He stated he did not beliege it was so much a legal question as an j interpretation of each one's -heart and mind. Councilman McNulty asked iAiat the answer would be if a taxpayer objected to i. paying the city manager's salary, to which City Attorney Uc.Carthy a.ndwered tha �= that would probably be the only way to get a legal answer to the question. �! Mr. Leo McQuiston, a city employee, spoke in behalf of Mr. Mead, stating that he had also lived outside the city and finally had been able to purchase ii a home here but that he had been put to a great deal of expense in doing so. a i' He stated that Mr. -Mead cooperated 100% with the city employees. Mayor Hilton stated he was going to vote in favor of the motion, saying i' �i that the city manager had been -given notice that •the position would be vacant I;• on the 1st of August. He also stated that if Mr. Mead found a home in Redwood, 1 he would vote to reappoint him. City Manager Mead said he appreciated the many complimentsand the support rendered him and said there was a technicality by which he could become a 1� resDient of the city and asked the council if it would consider leis renting a room in Redwood City in order to become a qualified resident of the city {. with the guarantee that -he would not lessen his efforts to try to locate a place to live. As soon as a house is available which is at all suitable to his needs, he would rent it and he would give the further assurance that as soon as building materials are available he will buy a lot and build himself a home. He asked for City Attorney McCarthyls,opinion as to the legality of this plan. City Attorney McCarthy was of the opinion that if Mr. Iliead rented a room and moved in some of his possessions and slept there some of the time'- it would be a legal residende. Councilman Britschgi said he would not ask•any man to leave his family and Y, I live apart from them in order to hold a positionuith the City of Redwood City, �! He believed it was a shame that such a thing had to come up. R Councilman Granger asked City Attorney McCarthy if he knew of any similar i case which had been contested. City Attorney McCarthy cited a case in San j Francisco after the earthquake Which was similar and the court ruled that inas- much as the defendant intended to make San Francisco his home and did have a C� room there, it was sufficient for legal residence. I� Some of the Councilmen wished to have the motion restated and Councilman Armstrong explained that ills motion was to disqualify Mr. Mead as City Manager Ik G