TOWER— The city council here delayed a decision on the status of the city’s ambulance director over questions about the propriety of a proposed closed meeting, which had been set for Thursday, Dec. 18.
The ambulance director, Dena Suihkonen, was paralyzed in a freak accident at a Fourth of July community picnic and has been unable to return to her job since. Suihkonen is currently on unpaid administrative leave but has requested accommodation to eventually return to work in partial capacity, focusing on administrative duties, once her recovery is complete. She has also requested to apply for extended unpaid leave through the federal Family and Medical Leave Act.
To date, the city has not taken formal action on those requests but was expected to make decisions on her future with the city at last Thursday’s meeting.
But shortly before the meeting, Mayor Dave Setterberg announced that the meeting was being canceled on the advice of their attorney. The Timberjay had raised questions about the closed session and what could properly be discussed behind closed doors. The paper also noted that the city’s posting of the meeting was inadequate, since it failed to cite the statutory authority for closing the meeting, as is required under the state’s Open Meeting Law.
As of the Timberjay’s early holiday deadline, the city had yet to reschedule the meeting.
While currently focused on her recovery, Suihkonen said she hopes to return to her city position, with accommodations. According to her doctor, Erin Grimsby MD at Essentia, Suihkonen should be able to undertake sedentary or seated tasks once she completes her rehabilitation in 12-24 months. That would allow Suihkonen to undertake some aspects of the ambulance director position, such as reporting, grant writing, submission of billing information, payroll, scheduling, and other administrative functions. But her doctor stated that she would not be able to ride the ambulance or attend to emergency calls in the future.
Back in October, Suihkonen requested paperwork required to apply for her rights to unpaid time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act, or FMLA, but was informed by then-clerk-treasurer Michael Schulz that the city was not subject to the federal law because it has fewer than 50 employees. But Suihkonen’s union representative, Amanda Metsa, informed the city that the FMLA applies to all public agencies, including cities, regardless of size. “Please follow the law,” Metsa requested in an Oct. 16 email to the city.
Suihkonen has had an, at times, rocky relationship with some on the city council. In 2022, she exercised her right to join the AFSCME Local 1490, which has been representing her ever since. Earlier this fall, the union had proposed a letter of understanding that would have exempted her from on-call hours in her contract with the city, in exchange for a $9,500 reduction in her annual salary.
According to Suihkonen, her union representative tried repeatedly to set up a meeting with city officials to discuss the offer and Suihkonen’s status with the city, but city officials did not respond.