A different District Court judge has been selected to preside in a legal dispute between Dr. Richard Collison and the City of Carroll, the Carroll City Council and City Manager, Mike Pogge-Weaver, over the renovations to the public library. According to court records, Associate Judge, Stephen Oeth of Ogden, was appointed to take over the case after Senior Judge, Gary McMinimee of Carroll, recused himself from the litigation on Aug. 28. Collison filed a petition in early August seeking an injunction against the three named parties from issuing $3.8 million in bonds to help pay for the estimated $6.85 million renovations at the library and former Commercial Savings Bank building on North Adams Street that will become the new city hall. He claims voters were misled leading up to the August 2017 referendum that passed with nearly 62 percent of voters supporting the project. In his first action on the case, Judge Oeth approved the respondent’s request for expedited consideration and ordered a hearing on their motion to dismiss to be held on Monday, Sept. 17 at the Boone County Courthouse. Oeth also ordered that Collison must notify the court by Sept. 13 if he still intends to pursue an injunction against the city. If so, a hearing will then be scheduled.
