Ousted Bronson Town Councilman Berlon Weeks takes his traditional seat next to Councilman Jason Hunt, drawing the wrath of Mayor Beatrice Roberts.

By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter

                Things got a little dicey Monday night at the Bronson Town Council meeting when ousted City Councilman Berlon Weeks tried to reassert his right to sit on the board and Mayor Beatrice Roberts threatened to call law enforcement.

            In the end, Roberts didn’t call law enforcement and Weeks took his usual place behind the council desk asserting he was elected by the voters of Bronson and has a right to continue serving his constituents.

            Acting on the advice of Town Council Attorney Steven Warm, Roberts gaveled the council meeting to a close at the 11-minute mark and walked out of the council chambers with much of the agenda left unfinished.

            Weeks was ousted from office by a 3-1 vote of the town council on Sept. 23 on grounds that the board was accepting a resignation they say he made at a meeting a week earlier, but which Weeks said he never made.

            Muddying the waters at Tuesday’s meeting was the inability of Town Attorney Steven Warm to hear Weeks and Roberts when they first tangled as Weeks stood at the podium and announced he was reclaiming his council seat.

            Warm hasn’t attended a council meeting in seven or eight months due to the threat of contracting COVID-19. The speaker system the town is currently using which involves a laptop is far superior to the antique speakerphone they had been using but it still seems to foul up at the worst times.

            On the night Weeks was alleged to have resigned, Warm wasn’t present at the meeting and communications were spotty at best over the speakerphone, limiting what he could hear from Weeks.

            On Monday night Interim Clerk Melisa Thompson was able to re-establish communications with Warm, but not before Weeks took his seat behind the council desk over the objections of Roberts.

            “The fact of the matter is that I am elected to sit in that seat by the people of Bronson and I’m going to sit in that seat for the rest of this meeting and I’ll be coming to every one…” Weeks said as he was interrupted by the mayor.

            “No you won’t,” Roberts said.

            “Yes I will,” Weeks responded.

            “No you won’t,” Roberts said.

            “Mr. Warm, can we call the cops?” Roberts said.

            Mr. Warm?????

            “Yes,” said Warm after a pregnant pause.

            Roberts continued speaking to Warm:

            “Ok, Berlon is not a council member. He’s going sit here in this meeting; if he is, I’m ending the meeting right now,” Roberts said.

            “You’re not coming through clearly,” Warm responded. “The sound on the system is not clear. If you are able, this is important, so somebody clarify what’s being said.”

            Thompson worked on the laptop and managed to reopen communications.

            Roberts recapped what had just happened. She said Weeks had asked to speak and as he took the podium he said he was planning to take back his seat at the council.

            “He’s not a member of this council anymore, so should I call the police or should I cancel the meeting. I’m going to do one or the other,” she said.

            Warm said she could cancel the remainder of the meeting as long she didn’t sacrifice “anyone’s serious interest” who was attending the meeting.

            “But by the same token I don’t know that you should give this gentleman, and I have nothing but respect for you, I’m not making any judgments here, you have authority to actually cancel your meeting. There’s a third alternative; for the time being, you can leave him sit there. It doesn’t mean he has a vote. It doesn’t mean he has any authority whatsoever.”

            “I’m not going to do that,” Roberts responded.

            Warm said he was just tossing it out as a possibility.

            He said she could cancel the meeting to get things straightened out.

            “Also, then, if you’re inclined to consult the police, if you’re holding another meeting and this happens again, you want to be prepared,” Warm said. “You can’t let somebody, in my humble opinion, with all due respect to Berlon, bully their way into something that’s contrary to what you already ruled. It’s just plain wrong. So that’s a strategy, but it’s just plain wrong.”

            Weeks fired back.

            “They didn’t have the right to do that (remove him), and the law is the law,” Weeks said.

            Roberts canceled the remainder of the meeting after Thompson told her the only two remaining agenda items, both related to zoning, should be tabled anyway.

            Weeks has hired Williston attorney Blake Fugate to represent him in the battle over the alleged resignation, but Fugate has tested positive for COVID-19 and couldn’t make the meeting. He is under quarantine for a while. Weeks said Fugate isn’t sick but he is required to stay home under quarantine until he meets state guidelines.

            Fugate has threatened to file for a court injunction that would prevent the council from continuing to bar Weeks from taking his seat as a duly elected town councilman. Fugate said the comments Weeks made at a council meeting do not meet state requirements for a valid resignation by an elected official.

            Councilman Robert Partin was absent from the meeting.

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Town of Bronson Regular Meeting November 23, 2020; Posted November 23, 2020