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The meeting Wednesday was the first since Councilman Warren “Butch” Taylor used the word “bitch” to identify two councilwomen while he Zoomed into a May 1 council meeting from his home.

“This is conflict resolution and we can all sit down and talk about our differences and how we can work together,” Mayor Matt Robinson said during the meeting.

The two councilwomen, Jen Hatton and Kelly Wadlow, said it was the latest example of mistreatment by some longtime councilmen since the two were elected a year ago. They said the mayor failed to address their concerns and they felt compelled to speak out to raise public awareness.

On Wednesday, Robinson apologized on “behalf of the city” and called the incident “deeply unsettling and inappropriate.”

And Taylor read aloud an apology to the council, Hazelwood citizens, and Hatton and Wadlow.

“It is my hope that both of them will accept my heartfelt apology given in a public forum,” he said.

A council majority also voted to approve a resolution “disavowing and reprimanding” inappropriate comments by elected officials and staff.

But Wadlow, Hatton, Lisa Matlock and Robert Smith voted against the resolution, after Hatton criticized it as a “weak attempt at repairing a broken relationship” on the council.

“Why does your outrage only show up now to vote on some worthless resolution in a misguided attempt to save public face?” Hatton said. “Why speak now when your silence over the last two weeks says all the residents need to know about leadership in Hazelwood or lack thereof?”

A handful of residents voiced support for Hatton and Wadlow in public comments at the meeting.

“I’m very sorry for what has happened to you, and I don’t feel what has been said has been enough,” said Rachel Corran.

Another resident, Jen Howell, said Taylor’s slur was an example of “frank bullying and gender discrimination” on the council.

Helena Smith, chair of the city’s Community Enrichment Commission, called on the council to allow for a third party mediator to step in.

“This was one incident, but based on what the councilwomen are saying, there are some systemic problems,” Smith said. “I’m leaving it up to the mayor to decide how this is going to be handled. Because it’s not over.”

Matlock, the only other woman on the council, also called on Taylor to make a personal apology to the families of two retiring police officers who were being honored for service at the time Taylor made the slur.

Robinson, the mayor, later called for the council to take a future “retreat,” to discuss Taylor’s remarks and other incidents he referred to as “personnel matters.” He said he had sent council members a letter that afternoon from a potential mediator.

“I am hopeful that the council can collectively turn this experience into an opportunity to learn, to restore the importance of civility and open-mindedness in our dealings,” Robinson said in his apology, “and commit ourselves to doing the work necessary to grow and move beyond the divisiveness which plagues public service in our time.”