By Sara QuamA petition circulating in Luverne may result in the recall election of South Ward Councilman Maynard Lafrenz.The move for recall is largely based on the termination of City Administrator Greg La Fond last week.David Hauge, who ran for re-election against Lafrenz, is on the five-person recall committee. Hauge said he wants the Council seat back.The committee had to submit a statement on grounds for removal in order to start the process. That statement said in part, "City Council Member Maynard Lafrenz has, with no factual basis to support his position, voted to terminate the Employment Agreement of City Administrator Greg La Fond. "Such unwarranted action by Maynard Lafrenz will result in City of Luverne taxpayers and rate payers making payments to La Fond in excess of $50,000. Such expenditures of city funds is neither necessary nor fiscally responsible."The statement also says Lafrenz violated open meeting laws by discussing the termination in closed sessions of small groups of council members to avoid a quorum, even though votes were pretty much tallied in those meetings.The statement claims this opens the city to further litigation and legal liability and has damaged employee morale and efficiency.Other people on the recall committee are Gary Kurtz, Shirley Akkerman, David Meyer and Jason Johnson. (Akkerman, Kurtz and Meyer actually live in the North Ward.)City staff estimated that the cost of a special election in one ward would be about $2,000 to $3,000. There would probably be 1,000 ballots printed, and they would be hand counted.Hauge said Tuesday that he’s gotten a "pretty good" reaction to his efforts so far. "People are afraid that the Council is being too rash in the decision-making process," Hauge said. "Everybody knew La Fond was looking for a new job and they could have just waited for him to leave and avoid the severance pay."Hauge said, "Maynard is a good guy, but I don’t think he’s thinking of the ramifications of his actions."Breaking down the processThis is the first recall effort anyone can find in the history of Luverne, so interpreting this portion of the City Charter at this point is new to everyone. oDeclaring the existence of a committee, as the five Luverne people have, is the first step in a recall election. oThe city administrator then has to verify the petition, which Greg La Fond did Thursday, May 12. oWith the clock ticking from that point, the group has 30 days to collect 500 signatures from registered voters in Luverne. The magic number 500 is specified in the Charter and isn’t based on population or percentage of registered voters.City Attorney Ben VanderKooi said the Charter is "silent" as to where within the city signatures can originate. It just says the petitioners must be registered voters in Luverne. Hauge said they will collect from any registered voter who lives in the city, even though the council position in question is from the South Ward.oIf 500 signatures are collected, the city administrator certifies the signatures. The city has a list of registered voters to compare to the petitioners, and any newly registered voters will also be counted.La Fond won’t be working for the city after May 27, and there is no stand-in administrator yet, so the signatures will be certified by City Clerk Marianne Perkins. Perkins is always in charge of regular elections.oAt the Council meeting following certification of the signatures, the Council sets a date for the election by resolution. The election date must be set at least 45 days, but not more than 60 days after that meeting, and publicly noticed.Lafrenz has the chance to make a case for keeping himself in office, too. Other than the usual advertising or publicity, Lafrenz may write a statement of up to 500 words, which the city pays to publish in the newspaper as a part of the election notice. If the whole process goes through, voters will see a ballot that is unusual. The ballot would first ask the question of whether Lafrenz should be recalled. If the answer to that question is no, the voter is done. If the answer is yes, he continues to the next question and chooses a candidate. Because Lafrenz is a part of the first question (and a "no" means the voter wants Lafrenz in office), VanderKooi’s opinion was that Lafrenz can’t file to be listed on the second question.Hauge has said he wants to represent the South Ward, so he will likely file for office and his name will be on the ballot. Because there is no primary, any number of people may also file for election.Lafrenz said he had no comment on the recall issue.