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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (May 10, 2011)
opinion may10 2011 An Opinion: “Vernonia-We Have a Problem” By Scott Laird I know the job of being a City Councilor in a small town is difficult. I have said it before. I know it, believe it and understand it. I know it is difficult to remain neutral and unbiased while making decisions that will impact the entire City. I know it is difficult to separate all the convoluted relationships, business dealings and special interests that are part of small town life. But that is what a City Councilor is required to do when they accept that oath of office—make decisions that are based on what is best for the community as a whole. They have to run our City like a business, not like a club where they can throw out or keep members they like or dislike. Fortunately, we have three business owners on our City Council who certainly should understand this, right? Who should understand the need to be forward thinking, and be able to weigh and measure the long range ramifications of their actions? Who should understand the need to be professional and informed, and can separate their personal feelings and relationships from their city business? Who should understand the need to create a positive image to those outside the community, correct? Wrong! We elect people from our community to represent us—who have been given the responsibility to set policy and oversee the City’s affairs. We elect them to do this in an unbiased and fair manner. We expect them to put their personal issues, business dealings, and any other conflicts aside when they enter that Council Chamber to make decisions that impact all of us. Unfortunately, what we got when we elected two new Councilors, Willow Burch and Marilyn Nicks, who have teamed up with Councilor Kevin Hudson, is a majority who have chosen to ignore the will of the majority of this community and have bulldozed their way to several disturbing decisions. They have chosen to make decisions based on relationships instead of running this City like the business that it is. Four months after this Council came together to create a change in Vernonia, all they have caused is chaos. And discontent. There are two key components in this situation—an investigation into Police Officer Mike Kay, and the performance of Interim City Administrator Bill Haack. These two appear to be directly linked to certain decisions Council has made recently. Kay and Councilor Hudson are very close friends; Hudson has been a huge supporter of the K9 Officer Program that Kay has run in Vernonia, both vocally and financially. Kay is also close to Councilor Nicks and her family. Kay’s police vehicle has reportedly been spotted while he is on duty sitting outside Nicks place of business for long periods of time over the last few months while he chats with the family. There is a current review by the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST) into Kay’s conduct which alleges untruthfulness. That investigation, begun before Haack took the City Administrator position, has driven a wedge into this community. There is the possibility that at the end of its review, DPSST will chose to revoke Kay’s certifications and the City would need to make a decision about Kay’s continued employment. Normally, the City Administrator would be responsible for hiring or firing an employee, but an Interim doesn’t have that authority, so the City Council would have to make that decision. The City is currently in the process of searching for a permanent City Administrator. Current Interim Bill Haack has been doing an admirable job since taking the job last June. Burch, Hudson and Nicks say they have trouble communicating with Haack. Almost everyone else thinks he is doing great. But on May 2, 2011 Burch, Hudson and Nicks voted to terminate their contract with Haack, effective immediately. Technically they are required to give him two weeks notice, so his last day will be May 17, 2011. Hard decisions that involve friends and personal relationships are difficult. Having to do it in a public arena is even worse. I understand that Mike Kay is a friend to numerous people in our community. The situation he finds himself in is disappointing from a citizen’s standpoint, and probably sad from a friend’s standpoint. I understand that people would want to defend and protect their friend. Hudson, Burch and Nicks don’t seem to like Haack very much. That has been evident ever since it was brought to Haack’s attention late last year that the contract with the City for the K9 program had expired and that certifications for the dog were not on file. Haack immediately took action to protect the City’s liability and pulled the dog off the street while the issue was resolved, angering Hudson. Hudson, Burch and Nicks have made Haack’s job difficult, attempting to block him at seemingly every turn. They have seemed intent on getting rid of him and have used poor communication as an excuse whenever asked. So what we have are Councilors putting their personal relationship with All In Pub & Eatery Kay and a dislike for Haack before the wellbeing of our City. The move by the three Councilors to terminate Haack at the May 2, 2011 City Council Meeting clearly seemed orchestrated. Councilor Nicks was obviously prepared to discuss this item that was not previously on the agenda, referring to notes during the discussion. Whether anyone can prove they met outside the public process to decide how to move forward is questionable, but the appearance is certainly there. And both Burch and Nicks have pushed hard during this year’s Budget process to create local rules that would allow them to meet privately and discuss the budget, even though the State guide lines they are given to manage their budget process clearly forbids this. Firing Haack, while in the midst of a search, normally makes no sense, unless there is more being considered than his actual job performance. They had the ability to choose someone else if they didn’t want to continue working with him, and he would have been gone June 30 th . If you haven’t figured out yet what I’m trying to say here, it is this: the firing of Haack seemed to be retaliatory, appeared orchestrated and a way to protect Mike Kay. When asked to explain her request to terminate Haack’s contract Burch clearly said it all. “The one catalyst that brought me to this decision was the back of this packet (referring to the Council meeting information regarding the DPSST Investigation into Vernonia Police Officer Mike Kay). When a voice from the audience spoke up, calling out, “Sounds pretty personal to me!” Burch responded, “If you were being persecuted by your community, so would it be personal to you.” 3 Sounds personal to me, too. Whether Kay or Haack are here next month is really beside the point. We have inexperienced, unprepared and unsuitable City Councilors making hugely important decisions on behalf of our citizens based on personal relationships and not about what is best for the City of Vernonia. This is a problem. Publisher and Managing Editor Scott Laird 503-367-0098 scott@vernoniasvoice.com Contributors Lynn Berry Gayle Rich-Boxman Burt Tschache Photography Scott Laird Gayle Rich-Boxman Jon Steward Photography Teri Willard Want to advertise? Have an article? 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