Which should it have been, a flat roof or a pitched roof? Would a pitched roof have saved $180,000?

These and other questions, all based on something some unnamed person said to City Council Member Joel Quance, seemed to come up more than a few times at the July 14 Staples City Council meeting.

Quance first raised the issue at the onset of the meeting, upset that questions he posed at the end of the previous city council session were not included in the minutes of that meeting.

Later as the meeting drew to a close, he returned to the questions he had on his mind, attempting to change the roof design of the city hall building now under construction.

Regarding the question of the minutes, City Clerk Phil Lindaman responded to Quance by saying the council's meeting minutes are intended to reflect actions taken by the council, not every comment or question raised. After considerable discussion, a motion passed on a 6-1 vote to have the minutes amended to include the roof comments and questions posed by Quance at the June 23 meeting.

Finally, at the end of the session, apparently feeling he was still not getting any answers to his questions, Quance unloaded. His questions, which were based on something somebody on the street told him: Is it true that $180,000 could be saved? Why weren't council members told this? Is it too late in the construction to change?

Thanking everyone for their patience, he asked them to hear him out. "I'd like to make a motion to change the roof on our current building project." He noted the council had spent time discussing the loss of $180,000 in Local Government Aid, due to Gov. Tim Pawlenty's 'unallotment' of funds for the coming fiscal year. "That $180,000 that we're losing now and in 2010 is the same as the cost of the roof," he said.

Quance said he had been looked upon as stupid

by several people when he asked questions previously. "Somebody, somewhere knew ... It does lead to a lie, a lie of omission ... Somebody decided to omit information."

Other council members were not as convinced that Quance's information, at times referred to as a rumor, were true. Stan Carlson, referring to the meeting where the city hall plans were approved, said, "I was surprised no one jumped on that," he said. He added, however, that without a strong recommendation from the committee to change this, he couldn't support it. "It's almost penny wise and pound foolish," he said.

JoEllen Einerwold asked a key question. "Can we find out if this rumor is true?"

"The rumor is not true," City Administrator Nate Mathews said. "I'm a little concerned that we're talking about rumors here at the council table." He said he has checked with the architects and designers. The design of the building includes installing mechanical equipment (air conditioning and heating equipment) on the roof and that means a flat roof is much more sensible.

Quance responded he had not heard from Mathews as he had expected since the last meeting. "At this time, I have a trust issue with several people..." Quance said.

"The architect would like to talk with this person (Quance's unnamed informant)," Mathews said, then adding, "Our architect is not getting paid on a percentage basis. They have a fixed fee."

At that point, Mayor Chris Etzler reminded everyone they had a motion on the floor. After a motion to table the whole question died without a second, the council voted 5-1 against Quance's change order. Quance was alone in supporting it, with Rob Schmeig, who along with Quance and Etzler, is a member of the council building committee, abstained.

At that point, Quance said he would like to see the roof replacement for the city's Community Center building on "... one of the next (council) agendas. Schmeig then made a motion to do just that, asking that the council be given a cost analysis of Community Center roof replacement.