Shake up in Schell City government

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Three resignations, and two newly appointed council members have shaken up the Schell City council this past week.

Councilman Quentin Goodman was the first to resign on Thursday, Dec. 8, one day after Schell City's monthly meeting.

"I, Quentin Goodman, as of Dec. 8, 2016, resign from my position of north alderman of the city of Shell City," Goodman's letter reads.

Councilman James Conwell's resignation followed on Monday, Dec. 12.

"Under current conditions, I am unable to effectively serve the council position. Therefore, I resign that position as of Dec. 12, 2016," Conwell's letter reads.

Schell City city clerk Erin Lee contacted the Daily Mail on Dec. 22, with information on the resignations and the two special meetings. Lee provided drafts of the minutes for the two meetings and scanned copies of the resignation letters from Goodman, Conwell, and Haddix.

Lee said Goodman delivered his letter of resignation to city hall and Conwell sent his letter of resignation by certified mail to Schell City Mayor Tom Haddix.

Lee said the council convened a special meeting on Dec. 15, to address the vacant board seats.

The following information was taken from a draft copy of the Thursday, Dec. 15 meeting minutes as provided by city clerk Erin Lee.

After briefly discussing the 2017 budget and who would read the city's main water meters, the council addressed the two open seats.

According to the minutes of the Dec. 15 meeting, Council member Vicki McKinney said she had contacted William "Eldon" Craig regarding his willingness to be appointed to the northern ward council seat vacated by Goodman. Craig was agreeable to the appointment. Tom Haddix said Craig would be a good addition to the council, and nominated him to the council. The council voted unanimously to appoint Craig to the open seat for the northern ward.

The minutes further state, "Council [member] McCubbin reports that he has spoken with Kevin Bailey about filling the South Ward Alderman position. Mr. Bailey has indicated that he would accept this position if he were appointed. Council [member] McKinney feels he would do a good job and she would approve of this nomination. Mayor Haddix reports he is going to appoint Monica Haddix, his wife, to this position. Council [member] McCubbin calls to attention the concern of nepotism with appointing a spouse to the council. Council [member] McKinney reminds the Mayor that this was discussed before and it is not a legal action. The mayor states he wants to give her a chance on the board and let her get more involved in city business. Council [member] McKinney voices concerns that we have lost our water system knowledge with Council [members] Goodman and Conwell and that Mr. Bailey would be more helpful with those types of issues. The mayor again states he is appointing Mrs. Haddix. There was no vote from the council. No motions were made. Approval was not asked for or given. This appointment was not completed."

According to the minutes, Lee said she is sometimes required to be out of the office for various reasons. Lee asks Haddix, McCubbin and McKinney each if they have a problem with her job performance. All three answer that they do not have any problem with Lee's job performance.

The meeting adjourned without further business being conducted.

The following day, McCubbin asked that a special meeting be called Saturday morning, Dec. 17.

The following information was taken from a draft copy of the Saturday, Dec. 17 meeting minutes as provided by city clerk Erin Lee on Dec. 22.

Present on the morning of Dec. 17 were Lee, Haddix, McCubbin, and McKinney. The meeting convened at 8:25 a.m.

According to the minutes of the Dec. 17 meeting, "Council [member] McCubbin asked Mayor Haddix to read a copy of Section 15 of the Rules for Missouri Fourth-Class Cities."

Article seven of the Missouri constitution, available at http://www.moga.mo.gov/mostatutes/ConstArticles/Art07.html, reads, "Section 6. Any public officer or employee in this state who by virtue of his office or employment names or appoints to public office or employment any relative within the fourth degree, by consanguinity or affinity, shall thereby forfeit his office or employment."

According to the Missouri Ethics Commision, "Affinity means a relationship by marriage or adoption, not a blood relationship. A relationship by affinity (marriage) terminates if death or divorce occurs."

According to the minutes, "After reading this, Mayor Haddix told Council members to do whatever they want. Council [member] McKinney states it is not about what they want, but is about doing what is right for the city. Mayor Haddix responded that he has his resignation in his pocket. Council members tried to explain that it is about the legality of appointing his wife to the Council at the last meeting. Mayor Haddix strongly disagreed and wanted to proceed with his action. The council again referred to the rules of governing the city and the Missouri Constitution and explained there was no choice. They said they do not want him to resign, but want to fix the mistake that was made. Mayor Haddix was visibly upset, and aggressively turned in his resignation and walked out of the meeting."

William Craig "joined the meeting" at 8:45 a.m. and was sworn in by Lee.

Craig nominates McCubbin as mayor pro-tem. McKinney seconds the nomination. The council voted unanimously to appoint McCubbin mayor pro-tem.

McKinney moved to appoint Kevin Bailey to the open seat in the south ward. Craig seconded the motion. The council voted unanimously to appoint Bailey to the open seat in the south ward.

McKinney moved to accept Tom Haddix's resignation. Craig seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

With no other business to conduct, the meeting was adjourned by unanimous vote of the council.

During a phone call on Thursday, McCubbin said, "I was very uneasy with his decision" refering to Tom Haddix's appointment of Monica Haddix to the council.

"If he had a different nominee that would have been fine," McCubbin said. "None of us asked Tom to resign, we just wanted him to fix his appointment."

McCubbin said he had planned to run for the mayor's position in the April 2017 election.

"I want to be elected by the people," McCubbin said.

When asked what he wanted to accomplish for the city, McCubbin said, "I want to clean it up and make Schell City a better place to live today and tomorrow."

During a phone call on the afternoon of Dec. 22, Craig said he had no motivation for accepting the appointment to the council, "There was a vacancy and I was asked if I could fill that vacancy."

Craig will only have one regular meeting to attend before he has to decide if he will file for reelection before Jan 17, 2017. The seat he occupies, along with that of McKinney, and the mayor will be decided during the April 2017 election.

Goodman, Conwell, and Haddix could not be reached for comment by press time.