TM COLON – 10/5/09 ….”AS TOWN MANAGER, I HAVE NOT ONLY THE AUTHORITY, BUT THE MORAL RESPONSIBILITY ….
….to find out if a member of the audience in a public meeting has committed acts of vandalism victimizing a town resident”… REALLY?…Hmmm….
Dear Readers ….in the previous post this writer posted the memorandum “report” distributed to the Commission on Oct. 5th, 2009…. included in her reasons for her pursuit in the matter was a second version…(the 1st on the dais was to see if BSO had done their job) … “Mr. Edmund Malkoon made a comment regarding three acts of vandalism at a resident’s home and more importantly, the insinuation that the offender was present in the audience, was a cause of concern for me. As Town Manager, I have not only the authority, but the moral responsibility to find out if a member of the audience in a public meeting committed acts of vandalism victimizing a town resident. This inquiry was pursued in the interest of public safety in order to identify any potential problems at future public meetings.” .. Well it certainly seemed to be a different story for LBTS resident and former VFD Battalion Patrick Pointu…(who sometimes comes and sits in Jarvis Hall) ….. In September he wrote a letter and described Town contracted “employee”/ Town sitting official/ resident of the town, Vice Mayor McIntee and his actions made toward him [Pointu] …within the town limits!…Readers will recall this was the first sign that Town Manager Colon was not the Town Manager many thought she was when we saw her previous dais assertions of being the “oversight” for the VFD were really just a “smokescreen”…….She stalled and did as little as possible, asking no real questions and chose not to instruct VFD Chief Bob Perkins to suspend McIntee, as she did recently with former Battalion Chief Louvaris!… Nope, no moral responsibility for resident Pointu on a much more serious charge with a named “victimizer”…who is still in Jarvis Hall and still sits on the dais!…Ha!…Maybe Madam Manager needs to come up with yet a third “reason” for her investigative actions in the Malkoon incident….After all when you compare the Malkoon incident of someone banging on the windows of his home with the McIntee incident of threats to do bodily harm…which one requires the actions she purports are her “moral responsibility” as Town Manager?….OUCH!…
It’s funny how things turn out…One year later Mr. Malkoon is the candidate who will run against Vice Mayor McIntee in 2010…and it will be he who makes Jarvis Hall safe in the future!…
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A RESIGNATION LETTER IS MAKING THE ROUNDS….LOCAL NEWSPAPERS HAVE IT….LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS HAVE IT….BCBYTHESEA HAS IT…..
9/30/08…8:17 am…
Dear BOD, officers or members,
You hired me as administrator until September 30st to organize the department during the transition period that is ending today. I am not happy with the result, we’ve gone a long way, but I was expecting much more. Our SOPs are not ready, no written training goals or recurrent training requirement are in place., the required ICS training are not completed by our older members., the mandatory (by our contract and NFPA) medical exam is not in place, our by laws were not updated and the current ones are not followed, purchasing procedures are not enforced, decisions from the business meetings are not applied, etc….
I have dealt with a war zone, I have dealt with terrorism as a victim, as a first responder or as a law enforcement officer. I have managed emergency operations with as many as 1 million people or a budget over 3 million dollars. Even if stressful, these operations were a breeze compare to the last six months because I was working with a supporting team of people.
I am tired of the lack of support and the constant fights with Jerry. I’ve tried to take on myself to let it go by looking on all the good sides of the work he was doing. but everyone has its limit. I can’t deal anymore with Jerry’s threats,intimidations,insults and constant disregard for procedures,by laws and chain of command.
Some of you may remember the threat he’s made to me two months ago when he wanted to “shove his fist in my ass” and “punch me in the face” or the statement that he was ” the one who brought back the department” and if it is not going the way _he_ wanted that he will “in one commission meeting bring back the BSO to replace us.”
You will also remember that Jerry went ballistic when Captain Scot Fowler countermands his order regarding a probationary member wanted to attend the beach rescue class. When I confirmed it and informed the Chief about it, he threatened me and said I had no authority to change his order. (For your information, our by-laws Jerry as a rank of Lieutenant) That’s one of the reasons why Scott resigned despite what Jerry is trying to let you believe.
I will pass on the multiple instances when Jerry accused me of lying about some facts that were not going the way he wanted or even accused me many times of not following proper procedure for the medical equipment.
Yesterday, the Chief asked me to organize the demo of the battery operated extrication tools for our officers to be able to choose the one we will buy. The company traveled 300 miles to come for this demo. Jerry just canceled it, refused to obey my order or the Chief’s order. That’s when I decided to resign.
That’s not the first time that Jerry is making department policy by himself or taking decisions on behalf of the members. He fired members without prior approval from the Chief, he decided to give $5,000 cash to the chamber of commerce, he throw out of a meeting people that were invited to attend by the Chief.
As I said before I can’t deal with it anymore. Members are calling Jerry ‘Chief’ and are all believing that he is indeed in charge because nobody is challenging it. I hope that on the fire scene there will not be any confusion and proper chain of command will prevail.
I have reached a point where I can’t deal with Jerry anymore and this fight is damaging for the department. One of us needs to leave and the department can’t afford losing him.
I am sure Cheryl will do a good job to keep the administrative work. Please help her by filling out properly all the forms, including the ones regarding expenses.
You will have to find a certified instructor for the Fire 1 class. Beau is in town for a few weeks, he can probably fill in until you find someone.
It was an honor to be a member of this department for all these past years. I’m leaving sad but that’s the right thing to do for the sake of the department.
Please stay safe out there,
Patrick Pointu
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Remember ….. Monday October 12, 2009 4 PM Jarvis Hall…Town Manager Esther Colon Annual Performance Review…Public Comments …
more to come……
Tags: Lauderdale By The Sea Town Manager Esther Colon, Lauderdale By The Sea VFD, Lauderdale By the Sea Vice Mayor Jerry McIntee, local government, Local Politics, Scoops, VFD
