Cloverdale utility meeting has dustup
CLOVERDALE -- An otherwise smooth-moving Cloverdale utility board meeting turned into an argument when a member of the audience accused the town's clerk treasurer of creating a hostile environment.
Amanda Storrs said that she saw Cloverdale Clerk Treasurer Cathleen Monaco being rude to Utility Clerk Melissa Boldman.
"I came in last Monday to make a payment on my bill, and I was flabbergasted by the rude, unprofessional behavior of the Clerk treasurer to (Boldman)," Storrs said.
Storrs said that Monaco had yelled at Boldman while requesting minutes from a meeting.
Monaco responded that Storrs saw the end of a long conversation and she was frustrated.
"I apologize for you standing there and hearing me, but I had lost my cool at that point," Monaco said.
Monaco would not apologize to Boldman, though.
The conversation that Storrs saw was about transferring audio recordings of utility board meetings from Boldman to Monaco. Monaco was requesting the tapes to take back an authority her office used to have.
Originally, the clerk treasurer acted as the utility board's clerk and recorder, but the previous clerk did not want the job, so it was passed to the utility clerk, explained town attorney Allan Yackey.
Yackey, who said he was unaware of the altercation before the meeting, said that since the utility board is technically a separate body from the town council it was legally difficult to tell if the clerk treasurer had to be present at the utility board meetings. He did say that it made more sense for the clerk treasurer to be there, to be legally safe.
Monaco said that trying to regain control of those tapes was the source of her frustration.
"This has been happening over a couple of months with me requesting the minutes and the tapes," Monaco said. "It had been going on for a couple of months. I had had it at that point. I went through proper channels, going through her boss. Her boss was requesting them and still not getting them."
Yackey said that bringing any complaints to the town council wouldn't have any effect, since the clerk treasurer is an elected position.
"The clerk is not employed by the town council and is there for not subject to the control of the town council, nor is the town council subject to the clerk's control," Yackey said. "Each is elected independently and each has their own authority."
After the board meeting Jeff Boldman, Melissa Boldman's husband, said that they had turned in two letters of harassment to the board, and Melissa Boldman said that the harassment has been going on since August. "I have doors slammed in my face; she slams them so hard that stuff falls off the wall," Melissa Boldman said.
Jeff Boldman said that he and his wife didn't want anyone fired.
Monaco declined to comment after the meeting, saying that the entire thing was one-sided.
The board agreed to supply and maintain uniforms through Cintas uniforms after a sales representative had previously given a presentation to the board for their utility workers. They also agreed to purchase two Carhart jackets for them.
"It's my preference that we go with the uniforms," said board president Cathy Tipton. "For professionalism, I'd just prefer them."
The new uniforms will go into effect Jan. 1.
The board considered different options to store the Jetter Truck during winter. Originally, the board hoped to create a storage area for the truck by extending two existing barns to create a covered, heated area. Tipton said that might be too expensive a project, but still wanted the truck protected from cold weather.
Interim utility manager Rich Saucerman suggested asking the fire department if they had the room to store the truck.
"I don't know of anyone else that's got a barn big enough that's heated to put it in" Saucerman said.
The Endeavor Communications storm drain project, where the town was going to pay to upgrade the storm drains that Endeavor wanted to install to their standards, was postponed. Endeavor didn't want to move forward until next year and the town wanted to make sure the project would fit their specifications and are waiting to hear from different offices.
The wastewater plant had a variety of costs come up, as a sludge pump broke, some skimmers and a PH probe was purchased. The sludge pump was the most expensive piece to replace. The estimates to replace the pump ranged from $3,800 to $10,000, not including instillation. Since the replacement pump wasn't needed immediately, the board told Saucerman to do further research into the pumps.
The town agreed to purchase a replacement fire hydrant near Retired Military Tree and Ground
"If there's a fire hydrant out, that needs to be replaced," board vice president Dennis Padgett said. "That's a no-no."
Don Sublett wasn't at the meeting for health reasons. The board also discussed proper banking policy during the meeting.