Appointed chief backs out

The Town of Lovell will soon be down to two working full-time police officers.

That’s the word that came down at a special town council meeting Tuesday night during which it was announced that newly appointed chief of police Gregory S. Charles has turned down the appointment and Lt. Noe Garcia has turned in his resignation.

With current chief of police Nick Lewis working through May 31 after not being reappointed to his post, another officer on medical leave and officer Kris Brimhall attending the Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy, that leaves only relatively new officers Sgt. Steve Allred and Brandon Jolley as fulltime working officers on the force as of June 1.

The Lovell Town Council voted last Tuesday, May 12, to accept Mayor Angel Montanez’s appointment of Charles, who currently resides in Glendale, Ariz., at $24 per hour starting June 1.

Tuesday’s special meeting agenda included an item entitled “Chief of Police wages,” but when the council reached that stage, Mayor Montanez said the agenda item was no longer needed and could be tabled. Councilman Brian Dickson asked why, and Montanez said that Charles had contacted him Monday and said his wife, who is apparently still an active member of the U.S. Air Force, is being deployed to Germany and he traditionally moves wherever she is deployed.

Charles, thus, “turned down the job,” Montanez said, adding that Charles was very apologetic and thankful for the opportunity.

Montanez said he has spoken with the council’s second choice following interviews, Dennis Scott Hutchinson of Evanston, and said Hutchinson is still “very interested” in the job.

“He said he’ll get back with me in a couple of days,” Montanez said, noting he discussed a salary of $24 to $25 per hour with Hutchinson.

Hutchinson is a patrol sergeant with the Uinta County Sheriff’s Dept.

But time is running out for Lovell to have a fully staffed  department. With Lewis not reappointed and finished as of May 31, Brimhall at the academy, Garcia resigning and part-time officer Frankie Rohrer retiring, bodies to work shifts will soon be hard to come by.

“I should know (about Hutchinson) in the next day or so,” Montanez said.

Councilman Brian Dickson asked if a background check had been performed on Hutchinson. The mayor said not yet but since he’s working for a sheriff’s department it shouldn’t be a problem.

Councilman Bruce Wolsey asked if Lewis would be “willing to hang on until we get a new chief,” and Dickson said he has people contacting him daily urging the council to keep Lewis as the chief.

“That’s not going to happen,” Montanez replied.

“I’d love to have him stay as chief,” Dickson said. “It’s time for somebody to meet with Nick. It’s not fair to leave him hanging. It’s a matter of professionalism. We owe that to him.”

Lewis confirmed this week that he has taken a position at North Big Horn Hospital that starts June 1. But he said he didn’t interview for the position until he was told by members of the council about a month ago that they intended to vote to accept the mayor’s choice for a new chief.

Montanez said he would contact Hutchinson Wednesday, and clerk/treasurer Valerie Beal noted that the council has a work meeting scheduled for Tuesday, May 2. Councilman Kevin Jones said the town had better have a plan in place before then, and Dickson said he didn’t like the idea of appointing a chief before a background check is completed, noting, “It seems messy to me.”

Turning to the original agenda item, Montanez said that Charles was asking for more than the stated $24 per hour, which is why the matter was to be discussed Tuesday night.

“I haven’t got more (in the budget),” Dickson said. “Sorry, I don’t. Until we get some answers on the budget, I can’t offer $25. If I were you, I wouldn’t offer $25 without council approval.”

The mayor, council members and Beal noted that wages were not discussed with finalists during face-to-face interviews.

Wolsey made a motion to offer $24 to any future candidate and the motion passed 3-1 with Montanez voting against and councilman Scott Allred absent due to a work-related issue after attending the beginning of the meeting.

No administrator

The meeting began with Mayor Montanez again appointing Jed Nebel as town administrator, hoping that, with a full council in place, the appointment would stand. Last week a motion to accept the appointment failed on a 2-1 vote with Wolsey unable to attend and the mayor unable, by law, to vote on his own appointment. With four on the council voting, three votes are needed for passage of a motion to accept and appointment, and Jones voted no, saying that he wanted to see how the position would fit into the budget.

On Tuesday night, Montanez appointed Nebel again and noted that Wyoming is always looking for ways to “bring our youth back to town” and adding, “This is a great way to do that.”

Allred made the motion to accept the appointment, but it died for lack of a second. Allred then left the meeting to tend to a work-related situation. Allred is the manager of the Wyoming Lime Producers plant north of Frannie.

In other action Tuesday:

• The council voted to approve a change order that grants the project to renovate and upgrade the Lovell free camper park an extra two weeks before substantial completion. The new deadline is Monday, June 1. The former deadline was Friday, May 15, after which a penalty of $200 per day was to kick in under the contract.

In requesting the extension, project engineer Willie Bridges noted that after the town decided to demolish the old shower/restroom building and build a new one and also upgrade utilities, winter weather prevented the work late last year and there have also been weather delays this spring.

• The council voted to accept the recommendation of a selection committee to hire DOWL Engineering for the upcoming Shoshone Hill Sidewalk Project and to send a letter to the firm.

After adjournment of the special meeting, the council worked on the 2015-16 fiscal year budget, attempting to trim some $148,000 the current budget requests total over projected revenue.

By David Peck