Mosier fire board on hot seat

Board members Ken Hudson, Lee Roy Herman and Vic Hamilton have also been strongly criticized by community members for deciding to reduce the hours of a new chief from full to part-time without public input.

“You pull the budget committee together before you make that decision,” said resident Susan Gabay, one of 15 people to speak at the meeting that drew a crowd of more than 70 residents to Mosier Community School.

A second special meeting, where a decision is expected to be made about Appleton’s future, has been scheduled by the district for 7 p.m. tonight, Oct. 22, at the school.

“Frankly, I’m kind of embarrassed it’s happening but it is gratifying to see that the hard work I’ve done in community outreach is paying off. Not in terms of my ego, but as a group that is concerned about fire protection,” said Appleton in a Tuesday interview.

At last week’s meeting, Hamilton publicly announced his resignation after 40 years of service as a firefighter. A recall petition for him and the other two board members has been circulating around the community.

“I hate to be a quitter but this is way above my abilities to lead,” said Hamilton after hearing testimony that ranged from threats of legal action to suggestions that board resignations were the only way to restore public trust.

After he resigned, the audience gave him a standing ovation and several people came forward to shake his hand and thank him for dedication to the community.

None of the other board members chose to address questions asked by the audience or accusations of wrongdoing.

Molesworth, president of the board, said no comment could be made before the board consulted with the Special Districts Association of Oregon.

He and Bartholomew had not gone along with the plan to get rid of Appleton.

According to minutes of the Oct. 9 regular board meeting, Hudson made the motion to replace the chief after expressing displeasure that a $510 bill for EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) training had been paid without the board’s knowledge.

Hudson wanted a policy in place that no more than $250 could be spent outside the regular budget without authorization from the board.

Herman supported that policy change but it was opposed by Molesworth and Bartholomew. Hamilton abstained from a vote.

Appleton spoke out against Hudson’s recommendation, describing it as a “recipe for gridlock.” He had been in charge of handling the operational expenditures of the district since becoming the first paid chief five years ago.

Since that time, he has recruited 12 active volunteers for the district that takes in about $170,000 in tax revenue each year that is used to cover $110,000-120,000 in expenses. By the end of 2014, Appleton said the district will have $300,000 in reserve funds.

At the Oct. 9 meeting, Hudson also took issue with Appleton’s involvement with the August wildfire that threatened homes in Rowena because that area is outside Mosier’s jurisdiction.

Appleton told board members that he had gone to that location to assess the potential danger at the border of Mosier’s coverage area.

He offered to help firefighters from other agencies get to an overlook that he had accessed before. And then he guided bulldozers to the fire line before returning to Mosier.

“That, I my view, was all in service to my community and time well spent because it was important to fighting the fire in general,” he said in a Tuesday interview.

After Hamilton, Hudson and Herman voted to oust Appleton, Bartholomew asked how the three board members could have taken that action.

“How can you look at the people who put us in this office and say, ‘You know what I just did? I just got rid of the chief, all the progress we’ve made over the last three or four years, and I have no infrastructure to move into the future with,” he is quoted as saying in the Oct. 9 minutes.

Hudson reportedly replied with, “We can find a better chief.”

Herman then raised the issue of Appleton spending $750 on a dress uniform to wear at the memorial service for Ellen Dittebrandt, a volunteer who died in August. He said the board needed to first be consulted about these types of expenditures.

Appleton contends that the subject of him getting a dress uniform was discussed by the board that hired him and permission was given. He said it became necessary to make that purchase in order to honor Dittenbrandt, who was a long-time and committed volunteer.

At the Oct. 16 meeting, Gabay asked the board whether Appleton had received a performance appraisal from the board, or been put on a work plan to improve his performance, before being terminated.

“Is there any legitimate reason at all?” she asked and several audience members demanded that the board answer her question.

Although the message was delivered last week with “honor and respect,” something that resident Pam Starling-Marsh and others insisted upon, the intent was clear: Restore Appleton to his full-time job and leave the board if you voted to oust him.

“I hope there is an attempt made to remedy the situation at hand because, obviously, people are not happy with your behavior,” said Starling-Marsh.

“The idea that he would be removed, given how much he is liked and respected for his service, without notice to the community, disturbs me deeply,” said Brent Foster, a local attorney.

He believed the action taken by the three board members had set the stage for a legal challenge. He said due process had not been followed to terminate the district’s only employee.

In addition, he said the public had been denied the right to address the issue of reducing hours for a new chief.

“I believe it was a mistake and the proper thing to do is resign so there doesn’t have to be a recall,” said Foster.

He credited Appleton with saving his home during a 2009 wildfire.

Almost every speaker who addressed the board talked about Appleton’s commitment to public safety.

They said he went above and beyond the call of duty to help community members, even assisting in the cleanup of properties after a fire was extinguished.

Several firefighters criticized the board for being more interested in building up reserve funds than buying equipment that would help them be more effective about protecting public safety.