While no reason is given, Gold Beach has suspended their police chief, Russ Merkley, placing him on temporary, indefinite paid leave. Gold Beach administrator, Don Flynn will supervise the police department until a replacement can be found. Having watched the Coquille City Council these last two years I marvel when I read stories like this or the one where a discontented Reedsport withheld a raise from their city manager.
It seems that some city councils really do pay attention and ‘council’ their hired administrators. Yet here in Coquille a city manager of eight years that has repeatedly demonstrated a lack of departmental oversight, receives little or no admonition or ‘oversight’ from the council.
As I read the latest news regarding disgraced officer, Randy Ulmer, I can’t help but get angrier and angrier at city manager, Terence O’Connor for ignoring complaints about then police chief, Mike Reaves. Again and again he sided with the chief over the safety and well being of the citizens. His indifference to actions and inaction of his friend and ex chief, has, in my opinion contributed to the downfall of Randy Ulmer.
Personally, I had my own issues with Ulmer and regarded him as either, incompetent and just plain slow witted or thoroughly dishonest, either way the net result for me was negative. That said, I don’t really think he is a horrible person and he has a very nice family that are no doubt all suffering greatly at this time. So I can’t help but get angry because there is no question that a real police chief would have already implemented the structure and policies to have prevented this from ever occuring. Further, had Ulmer had any real supervision, his gambling (if that is in fact what the problem was) might have been discovered and counseling sought to help him with it long before it got to this point.
So we have had some tort claims, some insurance payouts from grievances, a man who never had an opportunity to give his side of the story is now a quadriplegic, numerous other complaints and potential for lawsuits under the watch of Terence O’Connor and our council does nothing. As I understand it, O’Connor, knowing full well that Reaves was leaving the job and the profession let the city pay for a week long jaunt at a police chiefs annual gala shortly before he retired.
It took hiring a real professional for the job of police chief to even uncover the depths the department had sunk under the former chief and with the full complicity of the current city manager.
Frankly, our police chief is over qualified to be answering to someone like O’Connor and I believe our council is remiss in not seeking a professional to replace him. Just look at the wonders that have been performed at the PD and just think how wonderful this city might be.
O’Connor is not alone in his responsibility as I think of Councilor Capehart and her blind allegiance to the police department simply because her husband was a trooper, her constituents be damned. The same can be said for Bruce Parker and I note they have both been mum on the topic of the total mess the new police chief inherited, much of it on their watch.
Now, it seems the city manager may have knowingly or unknowingly advised the council incorrectly regarding the Kathy Hagen debacle, possibly to the point that they are violating the city charter and disenfranchising voters. More on this soon as I have requested some outside legal opinion.
As mentioned I attended the county commission meeting yesterday regarding the annex building and downtown parking. O’Connor quipped that people will ‘walk two blocks to shop at Pony Village Mall’ but are too lazy to stretch their legs to shop downtown and suggested that people should think of the benefits to their figures.
Apparently, he feels the parking problem is the fault of the shoppers and not a concern for the city to try and solve. Clearly, in his mind, the merchants can solve their own parking problem by catering only to physically fit patrons.
It is a good sign that six, count ’em six, people applied for the city council and a couple of them were young to boot! We must have some new blood on the council, willing to work with our mayor and not against him, to move this city out of the mud flats from which it has settled.
