I answer a question

I had an anonymous comment/question that I would like to address. The question was:

"Do you know if Klein Investigations charged Nederland VFD for Klein's services?"

My answer:
I don't recall seeing any recepits or invoices in the information that I read and/or looked over. I do recall me asking the same question but I don't remember the answer.I will do my best to get the answer but it will definatly come at a later time.

In other news...below you will find an excerpt from a June 27, 2005 Nederland City Council meeting involving a former fire chief. Hopefully, this will paint the picture for all of you who want to know what really happened. Honestly, you really had to be at that meeting. It was intense and toward the end of the meeting some fireworks went off.

I loved what a citizen said during the meeting..."asked the Council if Chief Lovelady was incapable why did they wait 30 years to solve the problem. He added that perhaps the Council should be considered incapable."

Council meeting excerpt:

Andre' Wimer, City Manager, stated that Fire Chief/Fire Marshall Mike Lovelady requested that his review be conducted in open session. Mr. Wimer added that all Council appointments expire on June 30th of each year and the remainder of appointees have elected to conduct their reviews in Executive Session. He stated that the action placing Chief Lovelady on paid administrative leave began almost a year ago with the opening of the Command Van Account. Subsequent to that there were other concerns by Council that resulted in the leave. Two separate investigation were performed by an independent firm, Clawson & Associates. The first investigation pertained to the unauthorized opening of the bank account and the second an overall evaluation of the Fire Department, its personnel, and policies and procedures.

Mike Clawson, Clawson & Associates, briefly reviewed his findings of the two investigations. He stated that the City engaged his services to investigate claims and threatened litigation brought against the City by the Nederland Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. Specifically, that Nederland Fire Chief Mike Lovelady and Assistant Fire Chief Gary Collins opened and utilized Wells Fargo Account #795-1065162 in the name of NVFD and without the express or implied consent of the NVFD. Mr. Clawson determined that the account was opened without authorization and by doing so violated State statutes and Home Rule Charter provisions. The second investigation was to conduct a field study of personnel and operational issues that surfaced within the Nederland Fire Department. He was requested to interview any and all full-time personnel within the Department who desired to express any recommendations, concerns, complaint or general gripe regarding operations, activities or procedures. Mr. Clawson reported that he interviewed twelve members of the Department, adding that Chief Lovelady declined to be interviewed on the record. Upon conclusion of this investigation Mr. Clawson stated the Department is facing a leadership crisis.

Fire Chief/Fire Marshall Mike Lovelady read a prepared statement to Council. He stated that he requested an open hearing because he feels he has not been afforded a fair evaluation of his job performance. He believes that his work record should speak for itself and not by hearsay of the Fire Department personnel and outside sources.

Mayor Pro Tem Neal asked Chief Lovelady if he would consider retiring and he responded that he would not.

Edward Fontenot, 620 - 9th Street, addressed the Council as the husband of the Fire Department secretary who was the subject of one of the anonymous letters. He asked about the status of the investigation to determine the author who made racial slurs about Mrs. Fontenot.

Mr. Hughes, City Attorney, responded that the investigation is ongoing to determine the author. Due to the fact that they were submitted anonymously a more in depth investigation will be necessary. The City has a legal obligation to continue their efforts in this matter to ensure that the Department does not constitute a hostile work environment.

Glenn Crorey, Beaumont, TX, spoke as a past Nederland firefighter and a friend of Chief Lovelady and asked that Council to consider his past experience and all he has done for the fire service in Nederland.

Albert Rienstra, 819 South 12th Street, asked the Council if Chief Lovelady was incapable why did they wait 30 years to solve the problem. He added that perhaps the Council should be considered incapable.

John Williams, 403 South 1st Street, asked that all parties take a step back to look at the process and determine if Chief Lovelady has been provided common courtesy and due process. He added that he does not know if the evidence would support what is happening today and that if one does not exist a job description should be provided and reviewed along with evaluations. Mr. Williams urged Council to ensure that Chief Lovelady has been afforded the opportunity to defend himself.

Debbie Violette, P. O. Box 2113, Nederland, stated that she has known Chief Lovelady for years and feels he is a loyal City employee and does not deserve the treatment he is receiving.

Councilmember Rogers stated that he also has known Chief Lovelady for several years, but that he has been provided with due process and has spent over 10 hours in Executive Session with Council discussing their concerns with him. He added that Chief Lovelady was provided with progressive forms of discipline.

A motion was made by Councilmember Rogers and seconded by Mayor Nugent that effective at 12:01 a.m., July 1, 2005, all administrative pay to Mike Lovelady will cease and that he not be reappointed to the position of Fire Chief/Fire Marshall. MOTION CARRIED.
Ayes: Mayor Nugent, Councilmembers Sheffield, Neal, Griffin, and Rogers.
Noes: None.

Councilmember Sheffield stated that although he was only elected during the May 7th election he voted the way he did because of all the evidence he had been provided. He found it difficult that with all the anonymous letters Chief Lovelady solicited there were no positive remarks submitted.

Mayor Nugent responded that Mr. Lovelady is an excellent firefighter, but the Council has lost all confidence in him as a department head.