In a move that caught most of the Holden community offguard Friday, city mayor Mike Wakeman tendered a resignation letter which ended his short tenure as Holden’s top executive effective immediately.

His letter came after receiving a letter from the Missouri Attorney General’s office requesting the resignation due to the nepotism provision of Article VII, Section 6 of the Missouri Constitution.

The letter from the Attorney General’s office stated that their office had been appointed special prosecuting attorney concerning a report from the Missouri Ethics Commission which stated that Wakeman had appointed is brother-in-law Larry Miller to the position of fire chief and street superintendent in Holden.

It continued by saying that the appointments were a violation  of the constitution and penalty was forfeiture of office.

According to the letter, if Wakeman failed to resign, the attorney general’s office would be forced to file a quo warranto action in Circuit Court requesting the court to remove him from office.”

According to Wakeman, the original complaint of nepotism was signed by a Kansas City resident named Michael Keller.  “I have no idea who this person is,” stated Wakeman. 

Waeman said that Miller has served as street superintendent for the past 14 years.  During that time, Miller has been the superintendent under the leadership of four mayors.  Wakeman also stated that Miller was the assistant fire chief when he appointed him to chief and has previously served as the chief for seven years.

“I’m not saying I didn’t technically violate the nepotism statutes, but at the same time, I believe I was acting in the best interest of the city of Holden by putting somebody into the chief’s position who was not only the most qualified, but the only one who was willing to take the position,” explained Wakeman.

He also stated that he had no plans to appeal the AG’s decision, but  would consult private counsel to see if anything could be done about changing the nepotism statutes.  “No where in the statutes does it state that the ethics commission has to prove parties involved have an intent to reap financial gain,” he added.  “That’s certainly not the case here, I appointed Miller because he was the best person for the jobs.”

With the resignation, Holden Mayor Pro Tem Butch Shore will take over the reins of the city.  A special meeting of the Holden City Council will be held Wednesday, July 25 at 6:30 p.m. to appoint Shore or another member of the council as mayor until the April elections.  If Shore were appointed mayor, he would relinquish his seat on the council.  He could also remain on the council and run the city from his position as mayor pro tem.

According to Shore, “It’s a shame this is happening.  I feel Mike has done a good job as mayor and has had the city of Holden at heart.  He’s started a lot of projects that are good for the city.”

Shore also stated that for the good of the city and the continuation of leadership he would prefer to be appointed as mayor and relinquish his council seat.  The remainder of Wakeman’s term would then be up for grabs in the April election.  If that scenario plays out, the council will also have to appoint a replacement for Shore’s council seat. 

As members of the Holden community learned of the resignation Monday, phones at city hall were constantly busy according to city clerk Sheila Spies.  “Many of the callers were appalled at the news,” explained the clerk.

In his comments, city attorney Joe Willerth stated, “I regret the situation and the actions of the attorney general in demanding Mayor Wakeman’s resignation.  I think he has been a fine mayor and has spent a great deal of time working for the city.  I regret his departure.”   

In his resignation letter, Wakeman thanked the citizens of Holden for putting their faith in him to lead the city for the past 15 months and he also said that he looked forward to working with them in other capacities in the future.

“I wish the city of Holden the best of lock with providing city services to our community and with the hiring of a police chief and city administrator.  It was always my goal to see the city of Holden grow and prosper knowing that I have lived here my entire life as well as dedicating 15 years of my life to the city,” Wakeman added.

By Steve Sullins
Editor

 

In closed executive session Monday night, the Holden R-III School District’s board of education offered contracts to two retired school superintendents to lead the district through the 2007-2008 school year.

Taking over August 1 and occupying the superintendent’s position will be Dr. Robert Watkins and leading the district from January 1, 2008 through June 30, 2008 will be Dr. Paul James.  According to district officials, both men have verbally accepted the positions.

The district hired two retired superintendents to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Scott Slava July 14, due to the state retirement system’s stipulation that retirees cannot work more than 550 hours per year.

Dr. Watkins retired in 1999 as superintendent of the Independence, MO school district, while Dr. James retired in 2002 as the superintendent of schools of the Fort Osage R-I district, also in Independence.

Beginning his career in education in 1965 as a band director for Mountain Grove High School, in Mountain Grove, MO, Dr. Watkins’ spent 34 years as an instructor and administrator.  He was also band director for Branson, MO High School and music supervisor and secondary principal  of the University of Missouri-Columbia lab school.  He was also vice principal of Rock Bridge High School in Columbia.

In 1976, he became superintendent of schools at Pleasant Hope, MO and in 1978 he took over the assistant superintendent position in Independence.  He was then deputy superintendent in Independence for eight years before assuming the position of superintendent in 1991.

His education includes a bachelor of science in education from Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield and a masters and doctorate in education from UMC-C.

Other positions he has held include visiting community professor at the University of Missouri Kansas City, dean of graduate studies at Park University and consultant-Bush Center, Yale University.

Dr. James’ education career began in 1968 as a teacher and coach at Paris High School, Paris, MO.  He then spent the next year with the U.S. Army in Vietnam and then spent eight years as a teacher/coach at Putnam County High School, Unionville, MO.

His first principal position began in 1979 and lasted three years at Palmyra, MO High School.  from 1982 until 1993 he was superintendent of schools at the Palmyra R-I School district.  In 1993, he was named superintendent of schools in the Fort Osage district until his retirement in 2002. 

After his retirement, he has acted as education consultant to ACI/Frangkiser Hunchens and the Missouri School Board Association.

Dr. James received his specialist and educational doctorate degrees from UMC-C.  He also holds a master of arts and bachelor of science from Northeast Missouri State University.

Named the superintendent of the year for the state of Missouri in 2000, Dr. James has held positions in many organizations including the presidency of the  Mid-American Association of School Administrators, president of the Missouri Association of School Administrators as well as president of the Northeast Missouri Administrators Association. 

By Steve Sullins
Editor

 

Entering into a contract for creation of a comprehensive plan for the city will have to wait until next month as the Holden City Council rejected a one-year pact with Olsson Associates.

The agreement called for the city to pay the entire $28,000 price of the comprehensive plan in this fiscal year while the city has only budgeted $12,000 for the plan in 2007-2008.  Mayor Mike Wakeman asked Olsson representative Ben Nelson to submit a two-year contract at the August 14 regular meeting.  That will allow the city to pay for the plan’s cost over a two-year budget period.

Besides voicing his opinion that the city could not afford the entire $28,000 in this fiscal year, councilman Karl Timmerman also suggested that the council wait until a city administrator is on board before entering into a contract.

Nelson explained that very likely an administrator would come from outside of Holden and they would need the plan to work with as a blueprint for action. 

Dwight Anstine, speaking for the economic development committee, stated he felt like they could get donations from the community to help pay for the plan.  He said that they wanted to get the project started so it could be finished soon.

Councilman Jim Robison, after being assured by Nelson that work could go on without a city administrator in place, suggested that the council enter into a two-year contract.  He added that if they got sufficient donations, they would be able to complete the work sooner.

Nelson stated that he would return at the August regular meeting with a two-year agreement.

In other council action, the group renewed the city’s insurance policy with Mike Keith Insurance Agency.  The cost of this year’s plan is $414 less than last year.  Total price of the insurance coverage is $42,389.

In a discussion of Holden adopting a city administrator form of government, city attorney Joe Willerth explained different options the city could take.  He said they had flexibility in how much power the administrator was to have and what would be left with the council.

The proposed city administrator ordinance was tabled until August for its first reading.

Also scheduled for the August 14 meeting is a public hearing on the tax levy.  It will be held at 6:30 p.m. prior to the 7 p.m. regular meeting.

During the mayor’s communications, Wakeman announced that the Holden R-III School District had received the $250,000 grant for sidewalks through the Missouri Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School Program.

According to the stipulations of the grant, the city will contract and pay for the construction of the sidewalks and will be reimbursed by the school’s grant money.  The grant specifies that the city has four years to complete the work, but Wakeman stated that he would like to have it completed in 24 months. 

When constructed, the sidewalks will run along the south side of Eagle Drive connecting to Main Street with sidewalk running along the west side of Main Street from 19th Street to Ninth Street.  They will also run along the east side of Market Street from 19th Ninth Streets and connect Market Street and Main Street at 19th Street, 16th Street, 12th Street and Ninth Street.  The walkways will be added along the south sides of Ninth, 12th and 16th Streets and along the north side of 19th Street as well as along a portion of the south side of 19th Street between Market and Main Streets.  The sidewalks will be connected to the existing sidewalks at the elementary, intermediate and middle schools.

In comments from the floor, Anstine, speaking for the Holden Area Chamber of Commerce, told the council that the park board will spend $5,000 for portable bleachers.  He also said the total price tag of $6,700  would be reached by donations from the chamber, F&C Bank and Bank of Holden and the Holden Saddle Club.  The bleachers will be constructed by local contractor Ronnie Ballard.

Reporting on Holden 2008 Sesquicentennial activities, councilman Butch Shore said that the Civil War reenactment was scheduled for April 19-20.  He also said that calendars, plates, plaques and cups would be sold to raise money for the events.  He added that the committee will begin meeting every two weeks starting August 9.

In business pertaining to resolutions and ordinances, the council heard the final reading and passed an ordinance which would allow the city to revoke business licenses when business owners made fraudulent or false statements on applications, engaged in other misrepresentations or in cases of moral turpitude.

In other ordinances dealt with, the council passed the first reading of an ordinance which would allow the city to record the plat of the business park.  They tabled two ordinances dealing with an employee personnel manual and contracting for a comprehensive plan.  Ordinances that were passed included a contract with the Holden school district to provide a school resource officer, a contract for Perkins Janitorial  to clean city buildings and approval to allow the mayor to make application to become part of the Kansas City Regional Purchasing Cooperative. 

During committee reports, Robison brought a suggestion from the Ways and Means Committee to explore the possibility of the city providing trash service.  He said it wasn’t a moneymaker, but would cut down on truck traffic in the city by so many trash services.  The mayor suggested the committee seek other Holden citizens to join them in exploring the possibility.

In a final item, a recommendation was accepted for David Preston to serve on the Board of Public Works.

By Steve Sullins
Editor