Resignations continue in Florence
Parmley resigns from council, fire department; Brookens from city appointment
On the heels of the resignation this past Tuesday of city superintendent Stuart Funk, the Florence city council Monday night accepted the resignations of city attorney Bob Brookens and city councilman Tim Parmley. Parmley's resignation included his position as newly elected fire chief and member of the department.
Immediately following acceptance of the agenda, Mayor John Lehman announced his annual appointments to city staff positions. Among those designations was Newton attorney Marilyn Wilder, who was appointed to the position of city attorney.
She was sworn in by Lehman along with Ken Hoffman as city superintendent and Larry Creamer as assistant fire chief.
Also appointed were the following people who currently hold the positions to which Lehman assigned them Monday night: city judge, Bryson Mills; ambulance director, Scott Zogelman; fire chief, Tim Parmley; city treasurer, Mary Jane Grimmett; city clerk/court clerk, Darla Gore; assistant city clerk/court clerk, Cindy Dallke; standards board, mayor and council; economic development committee, Sarah Cope, Dan Ludwig, Jolene Gayle, Cathy DeForest, Linda Britton, Randy Savage, Mike Sigwing, and Sue Klassen.
Parmley moved to accept all the appointees except the fire chief position and to appoint Larry Creamer as assistant chief. The motion carried unanimously.
Following the tabling of a decision on the clear well repairs and the approval of a final payment of $291.21 to fulfill the city's obligation to the Kansas League of Municipalities' building fund, Lehman announced the resignation of Bob Brookens as city attorney effective May 1. No reason was given for the resignation.
Parmley's resignation as Ward 2 councilman came near the end of the meeting. He distributed a letter of resignation to the mayor and each of the council members. The letter included his resignation from the fire department and was effective at the end of Monday's council meeting.
On a motion by Dan Ludwig and a second by Ed Robinson, Parmley's resignation was accepted on a 2-1 vote with Randy Mills opposed.
During a session of community comments at the end of the meeting councilman Mills directed a brief reproach at the audience of about 25 people.
Deflecting a query by Del Leeds about the resignation of Brookens and the council's use of Wilder's legal service before she was appointed to the city position, Mills expressed his displeasure with the bickering and fighting going on in the Florence community over several emotionally charged issues.
Mills told the group if the help of the council is not what the community wants, the community should launch a recall. He admonished them to run for office themselves if they felt they could do a better job.
He also asked them to ask themselves why they are so mad and to realize some of the grudges being played out have gone on for years, but have produced nothing positive for the community.
Mills received applause from a portion of the group in attendance when he finished.
The council also:
— approved a $50 donation to the Marion County Child Safety/Drug Education program.
— approved a salary of $12 per hour for Ken Hoffman. Hoffman will be on a six-month probation period and will be required to become certified as a water and wastewater operator.
— approved warrants in the amount of $49,397.05.
— agreed to send city clerk Darla Gore to a workshop May 18 for training in the city's accounting software program at a cost of $79.
— heard from ambulance director Scott Zogleman that the department had received two new spine boards, the defensive driving class is almost full, and the ambulance building roof will be evaluated to see if it will need to be repaired any time soon.
— heard a report from the Labor Day committee on the Tour de Florence held Sunday. Bicyclists from as far away as the Kansas City area were among the 20 participants in the 43-mile event.
— heard from city superintendent Hoffman that the circulating pump at the pool needs to be replaced and the cost will be $1,800. Hoffman was instructed to contact additional vendors in hopes of finding a less costly replacement.
— agreed to add an additional week of vacation pay to the severance check for Stuart Funk.
— heard the park committee had toured all city parks and made a list of recommendations to present to the council concerning safety issues. The council was assured most of the items listed are things employees and volunteers can take care of at little expense to the city.
— approved spending $280 for a new electric clutch for the Grasshopper mower.
— instructed the city superintendent to assign someone to clean out the burn pit weekly.
