April, 21 2023
Hi Everyone,
First, I’d like to thank you all for your support. Your turn out at our city meetings has been amazing. Your participation is having an impact. Below is an example of what I mean.
What happened at the last meeting?
At the April 10, 2023 city commissioner’s meeting, Evelyn Wood-Evans asked the commission for an accounting of funds her son had donated to the City of Oak Hill. A valid public records request. In her statement, Ms. Evans included that if the city could not provide a proper accounting, she thought the city should give the money back. Click here to see Check number 111, made out to the City of Oak Hill, and written on March 16, 2022, in the amount of $5000.00, for “Improvements at Nancy V. Cummings Park.” Rather than comply with her records request, Mayor Gibson responded by directing her to the Oak Hill Sports Club Inc. for the information she was seeking because the money was given to that organization and they were not affiliated with the city. Again, her son donated $5000.00 to the City of Oak Hill, not the Oak Hill sports club, therefore the city is the proper venue to seek the information she requested.
Sometime before April 11, 2022, the City of Oak Hill made a donation of $5000.00 to the Oak Hill Sports Club Inc. We know this because Oak Hill Sports Club Inc., wrote a letter to Mr. Evans thanking him for his “generous donation.” To see it, Click here. The letter was signed by Oak Hill City employee Erin Anderson. In the letter Ms. Anderson describes how the Sports Club used the funds; she says “we took your donation and hired a contractor to rebuild the dugouts at Nancy Cummings.”
On Friday April 14, 2023, City administrator Kohn Evans sent out an email to the city commissioners informing them that between the city attorney, city auditor and herself, they had reached a consensus that rather than fulfill Ms. Evans’ public request for accounting, “the best way to handle this is to return the funds.” Click here to see the email. Attached to the email was a cover letter to Mr. Evans along with a copy of check number 18380, written on April 10, 2023, the same day that Ms. Evans publicly asked for an accounting of her son’s donation. The check was made out in the amount of $5000.00, with the memo: return of donation. The check was signed by Vice Mayor Lindlau and City administrator Kohn Evans. Click here to see the letter and check. Both signees are well aware of our city’s policies and ordinances and should have referred the return of donation to the commission for approval.
There are a couple of issues that come to light here: The first is that clearly, Mr. Evans did not make a donation to the Oak Hill Sports Club Inc. His check is made out to the City of Oak Hill, the City of Oak Hill made the donation to the Oak Hill Sports Club Inc. On April 18, 2023 I sent a public records request to city administrator Kohn Evans seeking information about this donation. More specifically, I asked for a copy of the check the City of Oak Hill wrote to the Oak Hill Sports Club Inc. and any other records they used to support the decision to do so. To date, that records request remains unfulfilled. Apparently, our city administrator was able to fulfill what must have been a records request for city employee Ms. Anderson, because her husband published my records request on the Sports Club’s Facebook page. Click here to see the Sports Club’s posting. The Mayor also put the Sports Club posting on his public Facebook page.
The next problem I see with this series of transactions is that Oak Hill ordinance 2-324 (d) clearly states that all purchases in excess of $1000.00 dollars shall be approved in advance by the city commission. I assume that this ordinance covers all funds that are dispersed from the city’s operating account. I don’t know if the city’s donation to the sports club was voted on by the commission back in March of 2022 because at that time, I was not a city commissioner. Also, to date my public records request regarding these transactions has not been fulfilled. What I do know is that the check from the city, returning Mr. Evans’ donation was not voted on by the commission but is in-fact signed by both city administrator Kohn Evans and Vice Mayor Lindlau. We do have some evidence supporting the notion that a donation from the City of Oak Hill does require a vote by the city commission. In a recent email to me from city administrator Kohn Evans, she writes that “with the commission’s approval we can donate some funds.”
And finally, a reasonable person would assume that if the city donated $5000.00 to the Oak Hill Sports Club Inc. and then returned the $5000.00 donation to Mr. Evans, the taxpayer will bear the burden to cover the cost of these transactions. In other words, they (taxpayers) would be on the hook for covering these costs. Now it’s possible that the public is just fine with donating money to the sports club but by not bringing any of these issues before the commission and the public, their voices were not heard.
I would assume that the citizens of Oak Hill, much like Ms. Evans, would like to have elected officials account for not only their hard-earned tax dollars, but also see to it that those dollars are spent in a manner that is compatible with our city and state ordinances. The purpose of my public records request regarding this matter is consistent with my role as a city commissioner. Verifying accountability and compliance is what I believe I was elected to do. It’s my pleasure to serve the citizens of Oak Hill.
How city administrator Kohn Evans was able to consult with the City Lawyer and City Auditor about the return of the $5000.00, is a mystery to me. Click here to see her email to the commission. She has the check dated on the same day that Evelyn Wood-Evans requested a proper accounting of her son’s donation. The city meeting adjourned after business hours. Also, did you know the city had an auditor? If you take a look at the agenda for next week’s commission meeting you’ll see that Oak Hill is currently in the process of selecting an auditor. It’s also important to note that as of April, 21, 2023, Oak Hill City Ordinance Sec. 2-324 (d) remains in effect. It says that all purchases in excess of $1000.00 shall be approved in advance by the city commission. The second reading of the amendment to this ordinance raising the limit to $5000.00 is scheduled for its required second vote at the April 24, 2023 city commission meeting. Click here to see the agenda for that meeting. The amendment to our ordinance can be found under Ordinance #2023-05.
What’s Coming up
The agenda for the next commission meeting includes a vote to approve a Town Hall City Meeting to be held on May 2, 2023. This meeting would seek citizen input on the qualities and qualifications of what a city administrator candidate for hire should be. Things to consider here: In addition to citizen input, our city commission could form a committee like the one our city currently uses to choose our auditing committee. A committee like this should be diverse and qualified.
The citizens of our community represent an amazing pool of talent. Failure to take advantage of this resource is an opportunity lost. Taking advantage of this unique resource presents us with the opportunity for our city’s personality to be reflected in all aspects of our day-to-day life.
The role of a city administrator today affects all public aspects of a citizen’s life. The role is much more prevalent than a commissioner or other elected official. Are you happy with your trash pick-up, roads, drainage ditches, or other services the city provides? The choice of candidate to fill this role will no doubt shape the city of Oak Hill for a long time to come.
Here’s a short list of citizens that have indicated a willingness to serve on this committee. This is an amazing resource for our community.
Chuck Suma, his experience at Piper Aircraft encompasses 27 years. He was the President and CEO for 14 years. Currently COO Million Air, and served with the Indian River Chamber of commerce, United States Chamber of Commerce, and as a Board member of Indian River Memorial Hospital.
Tom Pentz, has 35 Years’ experience as hospital CEO for HCA Healthcare. Served as CEO for Orange Park Medical Center, CEO Lawnwood Regional Medical Center and Heart Institute, CEO for 2 acute care Hospitals in Daytona Beach Florida and CEO Cleveland Clinic Florida.
Charlie Dean, served as Project Manager Jacobs Engineering 9 years 6 months, Operations & Maintenance Manager Jacobs for 13 years 9 months Stennis Space Center, Utilities Manager Space Gateway Support Florida, 8 years. Oak Hill City Commissioner for 4 years.
Darry Evans, holds a B.S. Political Science and Masters in Business Administration. He worked for Florida Department of Juvenile Justice 25 years and was Recreational Supervision for the city of Daytona Beach 5 years Darry was an Oak Hill City Commissioner for 6 years and served for 1 ½ years as Mayor.
Jiles Smith, has served as Pastor of Ball Chapel AME church for 16 years 5 months and served as Development Regulator Administrator for the City of Oak Hill for 4 years, He was a Special Agent at Florida Department of Law Enforcement for 13 years and an Investigator at the States Attorney Office, 7th Circuit for 14 years 6 months.
This is only a small sampling of what Oak Hill has to offer. Three of the five volunteering to serve on the committee have been Oak Hill City Commissioners. A city administrator selection committee could conduct preliminary applicant screening, recommend and review background investigations, interview candidates and provide written recommendations to our city commission. The value of this volunteer service is a reflection of our citizens willingness to participate in this critical decision and should not be overlooked.
The agenda also includes a second reading for Ordinance 2023-05 Amending Ordinance Article VI (6) Finance Chapter 2 Administration Oak Hill code of ordinances. The Amendment would increase the spending limit of the city administrator from $500.00 to $5000.00. What this means to citizens of our city is that after its passage, the city administrator would have the authority to spend up to $5000.00 of your tax dollars without the approval of the city commission (elected officials). The city administrator would have to inform the commission at the next scheduled city meeting that the money was spent.
This would be after the fact; the community and commission would rely strictly on the wisdom and goodwill of the administrator for good stewardship of your tax dollars and not our elected officials. Approval of this ordinance would leave the community with only hope that nothing like the incident I described at the beginning of this newsletter would happen and provide very little recourse in the event that it did.
The next Oak Hill City Commissioner’s meeting is April 24, 2023 at city hall. The time is 6:00 PM. Click here for the agenda and click here for the agenda pack. The agenda pack contains all the information that city staff present to the commissioners to help with the decision-making process. Please come and let your voice be heard. Your presence and participation are how we hold our commission to account.
As Always, it’s my pleasure to serve you, I appreciate your support.
Joe Catigano
Oak Hill City Commissioner
Seat 3
