Trenton Mayor Gary Hall, insinuated potential conflicts of interests by at least two councilmen at Monday night’s city council meeting and that discussion brought out a telephone complaint made by the mayor to the Department of Natural Resources as well as an anonymous complaint received by DNR on another city matter that included the home and cell telephone numbers of the mayor.
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Trenton Mayor Gary Hall, insinuated potential conflicts of interests by at least two councilmen at Monday night’s city council meeting and that discussion brought out a telephone complaint made by the mayor to the Department of Natural Resources as well as an anonymous complaint received by DNR on another city matter that included the home and cell telephone numbers of the mayor.
Hall stated that “several things” had been brought to his attention by citizens in the community to which he felt he needed to get answers. He said he had looked into some of those matters, but wanted to bring the issues to the council “to see what we can find out.”
The mayor went on to say he felt there were some problems with some conflicts of interest, which he said “have been ignored or really not brought to anybody’s attention until just recently.” After stating he wanted to present this to the council, Hall turned to first ward councilwoman Jackie Soptic and began questioning her about her employment with the Green Hills Regional Planning Commission. During that discussion, Mrs. Soptic indicated questions about her employment should be directed to her employer and the board of directors.
Hall went on to ask her about the Community Development Block Grant the city received for a neighborhood development project, which was administered through the RPC. After City Administrator Kerry Sampson explained about the grant, Hall then began asking questions concerning the votes taken in regard to that grant. Mrs. Soptic stated she had never participated in any votes involving the grant, except to abstain. Hall read from some records of votes taken by the city , all of which indicated Mrs. Soptic had not participated in those votes.
Hall, who was the subject of a complaint by the council concerning his purchase of a lot that had been in the city’s demolition project, read a letter from CDBG officials which outlined that the mayor did have a conflict of interest and that the money paid for the lot, $2,535.72, had been returned to the CDBG program. The letter stated that the matter was closed and that the city’s eligibility for future CDBG funding was unaffected. Sampson noted that while the eligibility for funding might be unaffected, it didn’t mean that the city would receive any more CDBG monies.
Hall then brought out a letter, written to the CDBG officials by Mrs. Soptic in her capacity as Building Boards chairman, stating her support of the project and offering to provide additional information if needed. That letter was sent to CDBG as part of an application packet. Hall again said he was trying to find out that if this was a conflict of interest.
At that point, Councilman Troy Smith asked if the council could take a break so that copies of the documents the mayor was taking his information from could be made and given to council members. The mayor asked if he wanted the copies at that time and Councilman Larry Crawford said the mayor had “something on the agenda” and that he wanted to know what it was. Smith said he thought he knew “what the mayor was trying to do” and didn’t feel that it was fair to him as a councilman. He said it would help communication if members had copies of the documents.
Councilman Kenneth Ewing said attempts were made to find out what this was going to be about before the meeting, but that the council could not get an answer. Crawford noted that several of the individuals in the audience were there because they didn’t know what retention and positions – as was stated on the agenda – meant and that he didn’t have a clue as to what it meant as well.
A short recess was taken and when the meeting resumed, only four sheets of paper were made available to the council and the media – all of which had to do with the conflict of interest issue involving the CDBG program.
Mrs. Soptic told the council that she does not work with the RPC’s housing grant program and said that the commission staff is aware of her position on the council and makes every attempt not to involve her in projects the RPC and the city work on together.
“They take care to make sure there isn’t a conflict,” she said, adding that if she is unsure about a potential conflict that she consults the city attorney “and follows his advice.”
Ewing then asked the mayor about a DNR report dated July 7, 2004, in which a complaint was made concerning property the city owns on Oklahoma Avenue. The report lists the name as “anonymous,” however, the mayor’s home and cell telephone numbers are included. The mayor said he did not make that call and that the only telephone call he did make to DNR involved a situation in the Moberly Park area. Later in the meeting, Hall said that Carolyn Garcia had made the call to the DNR.
The conversation then turned to the DNR complaint the mayor said he made in early July regarding sewage allegedly running along Bolser Street. He said that councilman Dr. Nick McHargue had called him and said that the city had known about the problem for some time. Hall said he “had to call them (DNR).”
Dr. McHargue said he was told there was sewage running in a ditch near Moberly Park and that in visiting with Trenton Municipal Utilities Director Chad Davis was told TMU had been trying to find the service. Dr. McHargue said he then contacted a private contractor about the possibility of the storm and sanitary sewers getting hooked together when work was going on in the area. He said the contractor said there had been a problem there for awhile. In contacting city officials the next day, Dr. McHargue said he was told a sanitary sewer had stopped up and caused an overflow.
Davis stated that TMU has been attempting to address the situation since last fall, when the utility received reports of storm sewer smell. Davis said the smell dissipated and it was thought there was not another problem until the situation was mentioned to him in July. It has since been learned that a sanitary sewer had been plugged up in that area at about the same time, which Davis said has been addressed. Davis, who said he was not aware of that problem at the time Dr. McHargue brought it to his attention, said he has looked in that area several times since that time and has never noticed any sewage in that area. Smoke and other types of tests have been performed and Davis said the problem has still not been found. He said the area is being put on a monthly monitoring list to make sure it doesn’t happen again. It was noted that no bacteria tests have been taken of the area, including when the DNR was there. Davis said he has not yet received the test results back from DNR, adding that the tests did not include bacteria tests.
Dr. McHargue asked about what the policy is regarding the reporting of such incidents and Davis said it is the utility’s policy to take care of it as soon as it is made known.
The mayor then asked City Attorney Chris Raynes if there would be a conflict of interest on a CDBG project if a direct family member does something to profit off that project. Raynes said that the issue has been addressed at a past meeting and that it was governed by CDBG rules, which were presented to and explained to the mayor. While not mentioning a specific name, the mayor then asked if the city pays an individual who is a relative (of a city councilman) to mow lots on which CDBG monies have been used to tear down structures, is there a conflict of interest. The mayor noted that the city had the lots mowed because the property owner was unable to do so. Raynes noted that there was not a conflict of interest “to follow the grant and take care of a problem that people have come to this council and wanted it resolved and (the city) has attempted to resolve it.” Raynes went on to say the question had been raised at a prior meeting and noted that at the time, the name of the individual was made public.
The mayor then asked if Mrs. Soptic had a conflict of interest when serving as mayor pro-tem during the meeting in which the mayor was asked to step down during the discussion of his involvement with the CDBG issue. He was told there was no conflict as the grant was already in place and Mrs. Soptic was not serving as the administrator.
Hall also asked if she should have been allowed to vote while serving as mayor pro-tem at the meeting in which the mayor stepped down because he was the subject of discussion. Under state statute, the mayor pro-tem does not lose his or her power to vote while serving in that position, while the mayor is only allowed to vote in case of a tie.
The mayor then asked if there were any questions from the public, which included complaints about dogs running at large. One individual stated she had called the police station about loose dogs and was told that the canine control officer was on vacation and that if there was still a problem to call back on Monday. Police Chief Bob Lewis noted that emergency situations are taken care of by the police and that non-emergency calls for animals are taken care of by the canine officer. It was suggested by the council that the city look at getting someone to fill in that role when the regular officer is on vacation.
Terri Hammett then thanked the mayor for asking questions and said she was sorry as a citizen that the council “will not cooperate.” Councilman Steve Perry called that “a pretty harsh statement.” Mrs. Garcia said she comes to many meetings and that people come to her because they don’t feel intimidated.
“I’m not their first choice, I’m their last resort,” she said.
Former Mayor Tim Whitaker said the city “has an excellent council sitting there” and that while they don’t make all the right decisions, it is extremely hard to find good people willing to put their name on a ballot and run for a position that when they come to city hall “they are going to be publically humiliated and abused.” He said that when he was mayor, he and the council didn’t always agree, but it didn’t become disagreeable.
“And this is becoming disagreeable,” he said. “And it’s unfortunate. We need to keep good people in place. If someone has thoughts otherwise and they want to run and sit in that seat, then do so. If you want to come up here and have your voice heard, then do so. It doesn’t have to become a witch hunt.”
Hall said the council “is a thankless job” and said it is important that the council cooperate and work together.
“We don’t have to like each other to work together for the betterment of the city,” he said. “I want us to work together.”
Perry then addressed the DNR situation in regard to who should have been told when the problem arose. He asked whether the mayor had contacted either the city administrator of the city attorney of his intentions to call DNR and Hall said he did not. McHargue noted that the city did know about it, however, Perry said there was only three days from the time the city was made aware until the time the DNR was called. He also questioned why the city administrator wasn’t notified and Hall responded he had told Dr. McHargue.
Mrs. Garcia then asked if the city had paid the back taxes on property owned by an individualwho had houses torn down through the CDBG program. Sampson said that the structures on the properties in question had become a problem and that as part of a contract with the owner, the city paid the taxes.
The discussion concluded with Raynes asking Hall to give an answer to the employees “from his perspective,” and telling them if their jobs were in jeopardy. Raynes said that had an explanation been offered in advance, the employees would not have had to worry about whether their positions were secure. He noted that attempts were made by the media to get an explanation what the topic was, but that none was forthcoming so the employees could not determine the status of their jobs.
The mayor said Raynes was reading into the agenda listing (positions and retention) that jobs were in jeopardy, stating that the jobs were secure. He told the employees that he did not tell them they had to come to the meeting and that the discussion involved positions.
Ewing then asked what retention of positions meant and the mayor said he had received concerns about the city’s decision to hire a full-time building inspector, action that was taken by the council earlier this year. John Beier, who does the job on a part-time basis, said he feels a full-time position is needed because his other duties with the city does not allow him the time he feels is required to do the job as it should be done. He said that would include having the individual at city hall to talk with individuals and follow the building code process from beginning to end.