Baldwin to investigate councilman’s actions

Presley claims that Jeff Parrish has “on repeated occasion issued direct threats and other acts of intimidation against city employees in an effort to coerce them into choosing sides in the ongoing political disputes among the city council.”

Presley asked the city council to take action in order to prevent Parrish from placing the city in further legal jeopardy.”

In making the motion to approve the investigation, council member Beverly Holcomb said, “I feel like we have no choice but to go ahead with the investigation.” Council members Sandi Rudeseal, Robert Bohannon and Rodney King agreed with Holcomb. Parrish abstained from the vote.

The council agreed to have a partner in the law firm of Hulsey, Oliver & Mahar, Gainesville, to do the investigation. City attorney David Syfan, also a partner in this law firm, said, “The partner will make a report to present to the council and it will be up to the council on how the issue is handled.”

Former mayor Mark Reed suggested having Presley and Parrish take lie detector tests.

“It would be cheaper,” Reed said.

Citizen Phyllis Marshall said, “We don’t need to spend big money on this.”

Syfan was unable to give the council an estimate on the total charges for the investigation.

Presley recommended that the council adopt some type of ethics ordinance for the council to deal with these types of issues going forward.

CALLED MEETING

The council called a special meeting for 6 p.m. on Tuesday to address the issue with one item on the agenda – executive session, personnel. However, in a 3-2 vote by the council, the motion to hold the discussion in open session was approved. Holcomb, Bohannon and King opposed closing the meeting to the public. Rudeseal and Parrish voted to close the meeting.

Holcomb said citizens called her concerned about this being discussed in closed session.

“And that is the reason I vote to leave the meeting open to the public,” she said.

In a memo to the mayor and council, Pressley claims the following:

•on Oct. 11, Parrish, along with Mayor Jerry Neace, met with members of the Baldwin Fire Department at which time those in attendance stated that Mr. Parrish issued a threat that if employees did not support the mayor’s initiative to outsource fire service and openly engage in influencing other members of the council to support the mayor that they would lose their jobs with the city.

•on Nov. 12, Pressley said he and Parrish had a conversation at city hall and the council member said that employees were going to have to choose sides in the current political disputes between council members and said those who chose the “wrong side” would be fired after the next election if he was successful in “securing a third vote.” Presley said he “warned him of the legal implications and the unethical and immorality of such behavior and actions.”

Presley said that Parrish sent an email on Dec .23 where he recommends his immediate dismissal as city administrator.

“This action is nothing more than a clear attempt to retaliate against and punish me for my recent refusal to issue a cash or check refund to Chad Rudeseal (husband of council member Sandi Rudeseal) and their neighbor, Mr. Shaun Bowen, during the week of Dec. 20-24 without formal council approval,” Presley said.

Presley said the refund was “demanded because of potential overpayment for services.”

“Such an act would have been a direct violation of current practices and procedures, which does not allow for cash refunds for water/sewer accounts except for deposit refunds when an account is closed,” Presley said.

Mayor Jerry Neace stated during the called meeting that the grievance procedure in the personnel policy was not handled properly.

“We received the email from Mr. Presley and two minutes later it went out to the media,” he said. “We were not given enough time to investigate the grievance.”

Neace explained that under the current personnel policy, Presley is working under a probationary period with the city. The first 12 months of employment is a working test, Neace explained.

Neace went on to say, “Insubordination was involved in this matter.”

Presley said, “These actions should never have happened and they should not continue. I stand behind the statements I have made.”
Neace said, “My whole position has nothing to do with what has been said, but the way it was handled.”

Presley said, “I am tired of all the pettiness that has been going on and continues to go on.”

Parrish read a lengthy email in response to Presley’s memo.

“I am certainly disappointed that our city administrator chose to make public allegations against me that would demean my character and incorrectly portray my intentions toward any employee of the city,” Parrish said. “I realize that I have not become the most popular council member as I have tried to work for change in how the city operates and understand with my call for change I have ruffled feathers. But I would like to state that I have never spoken against any employee in a way as to cast doubt on their integrity and character and I refuse to be drawn into any discussions that attempts to do so. Mr. Presley’s interpretations of my actions are incorrect and unfair.”

The email was sent to various individuals on Monday after Presley’s memo calling for an investigation.

In Parrish’s email response to the issue with the firefighters, he stated, “I was invited to this meeting by the mayor to answer questions brought up by the firefighters. I vowed to answer their questions directly and honestly and to the best of my ability, which I did. Through this open conversation I tried to let the firefighters know that no meetings had taken place with the council to discuss outsourcing fire service and any rumors they had heard to contrary were incorrect. I went on to say that to my knowledge no meetings were planned for any such discussion and that I felt the only way anything would move forward with consolidating services with another city would be if they themselves went to other council members and insisted on some type of consolidation. I did also say that I was concerned that if the city’ s income continued to drop I had a fear we could not afford the level of fire service we currently had. I understand that at some point later some firefighters interpreted this as a threat and related this to other council members. I was also told that council members King, Bohannon, Holcomb and the mayor were informed by the fire chief (Joe Roy) that it was incorrect to interpret what I said as a threat and to my knowledge the issue had been dropped.”

Following Parrish’s response, Neace asked each council member individually when they were made aware that the firefighters were upset. Council member Holcomb advised she knew about it the night after the meeting. Rudeseal stated she didn’t know about it until she received the email on Monday. Presley disputed this, saying he had talked with her on several occasions at city hall about this. Bohannon advised he didn’t remember who told him about the issue with the firefighters. King said he too learned that the firefighters were upset following the meeting that night.

Following Parrish’s response, Presley advised that Parrish made some untrue statements in the response. “I stand behind the statements that I have made.”

A number of people in attendance at the one hour and 15 minute hearing spoke to the council in favor of Presley and the good job that he is doing for the City of Baldwin.

Parrish said, “I didn’t run to make new friends. I want to bring order to a city that has continuously not followed their own rules.”
Several citizens in attendance at the meeting addressed the council during the citizens’ concerns portion of the meeting and most of the comments dealt with the issue concerning Parrish and Presley.

Elsie Sumner, Crooked Pine Trail, passed out a letter that she wrote and emailed to Jerry Presley on Monday night at 7:45 p.m. thanking him for his help with a dog issue in her neighborhood.

Sumner said, “As a citizen, I am tired of avoiding meetings, avoiding issues, and that is what I have been doing.”

Sumner urged the council to do whatever is necessary to keep Police Chief Daren Osborn and Presley employed with the city.

Sumner said, “We have a town that we need to protect, we have citizens we need to protect…you have got to stop the in-fighting.”
To Parrish, Sumner said, “I feel like that sometimes you come across as a bully.” Sumner went on to state she was one of the ones who encouraged Parrish to get involved with the council.

Former Baldwin Mayor Mark Reed, Williams Street, said, “It breaks my heart to see the way things are going here.” Reed stated state law requires newly-elected officials to attend training and the mayor and new council members have not attended the training. “I think you would benefit from this training, you need to go,” Reed said.

“You guys don’t work for the city, you are the city,” Reed said. Reed recommended that each council member sit down and come up with three things they want for the city and then get together and see if some of the others came up with the same thing and work together on reaching those goals.

Former council member Ray Holcomb said, “You can’t keep pointing fingers at former council members and council members you are trying to work with.” Holcomb also agreed with Reed on the need for the training.

Mike Moeller, Banks Ridge Drive, said, “Presley is a keep and retain type of guy.” Moeller also urged the council to address the Americans with Disabilities Act concerning city hall and the downtown area. “The handicap people need to be able to get into city hall to pay their water bills,” Moeller said.

Curtis Eller stated he had been a resident of Baldwin for a number of years and ‘nothing good has ever come out of Baldwin.’ “You don’t want people to know where you live,” Eller said.