Commissioner Dean Lovelace will have to be physically present to take official part in any City Commission meetings, according to an opinion from the the city attorney released on Tuesday.

The opinion puts to rest Mayor Gary Leitzell’s suggestion that Lovelace attend meetings by teleconference or computer as he recuperates from a fall. The mayor is continuing to push for a policy to deal with long-term absences.

Lovelace, 66, has missed 11 consecutive meetings since summer. Previously, Lovelace — the longest serving commissioner in Dayton history with 19 years — was sidelined for nearly a year following a stroke in 2008.

“I plan to fill out my term as soon as I can walk.” Lovelace said Monday, adding he hopes to be back at commission meetings before the end of the year. He was re-elected to a sixth consecutive 4-year term last year. His term ends in 2016.

Lovelace did not respond Tuesday to a telephone message.

The City Charter allows the absence to be excused by a majority of the commission, which the commission has done 11 times. The charter requires any commissioner who has five consecutive unexcused absences be removed from office and the seat filled by special election.

“What I’m trying to do is provide commissioners with an opportunity to address an issue that should have been addressed three years ago,” Leitzell said Tuesday. “I have nothing against Commissioner Lovelace … But now is the time to address the question: At what point will the commission decide that excusing the absences cannot be sustained?

“What if a commissioner is in a coma? I am sure there will be discussions of this at (today’s) commission meeting.”

Leitzell asked City Manager Tim Riordan two weeks ago to research what, if any, legal roadblocks might exist to his suggestion.

John Danish, city attorney, wrote in a memo to Riordan that the charter specifies all commission meetings are open to the public in compliance with the state’s Sunshine Law. That law specifies “(a) member of a public body shall be present in person at a meeting open to the public to be considered present or to vote.”

“His (Lovelace’s) ability to influence his colleagues is what is missing,” Leitzell said. The mayor suggested Lovelace could still fulfill his role in personal conversations. “He certainly can have a dialogue that could influence how I might vote.”

The commissioners approved the first 10 absences unanimously. Last week Leitzell voted against excusing Lovelace, asking the commissioners to come up with a policy for long-term absences.

Commissioner Nan Whaley asked for an explanation for the mayor’s vote at the meeting, noting Lovelace’s long service to the community.

Tuesday, Whaley said she would continue to vote to excuse Lovelace’s absences. “He has fallen ill and I will respect the time he needs to get better.”

The four commissioners earn $36,878 annually; the mayor $44,824. The City Commission this year reduced their five salaries by 1.2 percent, the equivalent of the three cost-savings days, or furlough days, required of other city employees. The mayor and commissioners are considered part-time positions.