Sparks fly at City meeting over Mayor’s decision

By Pat Maurer

Review Correspondent

A decision not to reappoint a member of the Parks and Recreation Committee for another term led to a sometimes heated confrontation at the Clare City Commission meeting Monday evening.

In a letter to Parks and Recreation board member Kelly Koch, Clare Mayor Pat Humphrey notified her that he would not nominate her for another three year term on the board.

Also in the same letter, she was invited to the City meeting to accept recognition for her past service to the board.

Koch’s three-year term on the Parks and Recreation Board expired in August.

In a letter dated January 11, Humphrey wrote, “…I do not currently intend to nominate you to serve another term as a member of this board.” He said his decision was based on efforts to “ensure that participation of all of our boards and committees is representative of the various groups and special interests of our community.”

In his board report, City Manager Ken Hibl explained the decision saying, “The Mayor has opted to take the expiration of Kelly’s term (and likely subsequent term expirations of this Board) to initiate the process to nominate community members …that represent the current, most significant recreation partnerships of the City and those recreation programs that presently have the highest community participation levels. The Mayor will likely make a concerted effort to make future nomination that coincide with …interest groups. The Mayor’s first priority is to nominate a member of the community’s youth to serve as a member of this Board.”

Koch read her own letter during Public Comment at the City meeting saying, “I was rather shocked at this unprecedented change in procedure as to how Parks and Recreation Board members are nominated and also the potential change to the composition of the Clare Parks and Recreation board to include special interest groups.”

She continued, “Because of these changes…Commissioner John Koch, my husband, called Mayor Humphrey for clarification. Mayor Humphrey’s response to him was ‘Don’t you think there are enough Kochs already representing the City of Clare?’”

She continued, “I became aware that there was possible political motivation to not nominate me because of my last name.” She continued, “Is it because I have dared to ask questions, seek information and refuse to ‘rubber stamp’ every proposal that is presented?”

Both Humphrey and Commissioner Koch admitted that the phone conversation became heated. “When you called,” Humphrey said to Commissioner Koch, “you came unglued on me. I don’t think we need to go into that here.”

At the meeting Kelly Koch read, “I hope the Clare City Commission will remember that I have nothing to gain by serving on this volunteer board and my honesty and integrity precede me.”

She said, “If we chose to believe … that there is no political motivation to remove me, then Mayor Humphrey must be fully in favor of appointing special interest groups to direct how to spend our City of Clare taxpayer dollars and Parks and Recreation millage money.”

Humphrey said, “Since I came on (the Commission), appointments have always been made by the Mayor. Boards change, times change, sometimes when members leave, it means there could be others represented. Nobody is more fair than I am.”

He continued, “If you don’t like (the process) let’s add it to an agenda and discuss it. This is the way it has always been done. If we want to change it, we need to discuss and change it.”

Other members of the Parks and Recreation Board also spoke during Public Comment at the meeting.

Jon Ringleberg, who called himself “the newest member of the Parks and Recreation Board,” said that as a Grant Township resident, indirectly he represents a non-taxpayer group. “I have an interest in soccer because my son plays,” he said. “Should every sport be represented? Where do you draw the line?”

Marion Matyn, a Parks and Recreation Board member for two years, said, “The way Kelly received the letter was very unprofessional. If there was a feeling that the composition of the board needed to be changed shouldn’t it have been brought to the board? I wish this had been handled in a different fashion.”

Rose Michels, a member of the Parks and Recreation Board for more than 25 years, said, “My term expired in November. Why wasn’t I sent a letter? Why wasn’t I approached? In all my years on the board, there has never, ever been a situation like this.”

Commissioner Koch commented, “It is pretty convenient that my wife is the one kicked off the board.”

Another Parks and Recreation Board member, Doug Randle, said, “We usually see applications, review them and then turn them over to Ken. Why not this time?”

Hibl replied, that is not always the process for committee appointments. “Traditionally the Mayor has made appointments. Nothing says the Mayor is bound by recommendations. There needs to be some process for selecting and appointing committee members.”

Commissioner Tom Koch made a motion to amend one already on the floor to recognize Kelly Koch’s service to include her reappointment for another three-year term. After a lengthy discussion on the proper procedure, the proposed amendment was voted down 3-2, with both Commissioner Kochs voting for the amendment and Humphrey, Jean McConnell and Bill Horwood voting against it.

The motion to recognize Kelly Koch’s service was approved unanimously.

In another motion recommended by the City Manager, the Commission voted to “hold in abeyance all committee appointments until a decision can be made on the process.” Hibl said there is nothing in the City’s policies and that he would talk to the City Attorney about the matter and bring it back to the Commission next month.

Other business at the Clare City Commission meeting included:

• Clare Commissioners recognized Clare Police “Officers of the Year” including Brian Gregory as full-time Officer of the Year, Paul Morningstar as Reserve Police Officer of the Year and Jarred Wentworth as Cadet Police Officer of the Year.
• The Commission heard a presentation from new City resident Robert Andreotti, formerly of Saginaw, on a Neighborhood Watch Program and events planned for the year. There are 87 citizen-members in the program.
• Adoption of a resolution authorizing the City to continue as a signatory of the Michigan Emergency Management Assistance Compact which provides assistance from other public agencies in the event of emergencies or disasters.
• Approval of a resolution for a Charitable Gaming License for the United Way’s upcoming fund raiser.
• A Public Hearing and subsequent approval of changes to the Zoning Ordinances changing the sign set-back requirements.
• During his City Manager’s Report, Hibl outlined the ongoing process to develop a new Industrial Park. Of seven possible sites, Hibl said, the north end of Clare is the one that will be recommended if it is affordable. Hibl said Michigan Economic Development Corporation grant funds may be available but application must be made by February 27. Only one grant application can be made he said and expansion of the City’s Streetscape is another possible project. He also reported that the City now, for the first time, has been rated with 51 percent of the population at the low/moderate income level, making Clare eligible for grants without the addition of jobs as a condition of the funds.