This is Dr. Jeff Duncan's reply to Bill Fronk's recent letter trying to change history about Jeff's removal from the Park's Board. It is followed by some more information I have since obtained. Your Town Council in action:
Signal Mountain Town Council: "Move
Along Folks...Nothing to See Here"
My name was recently invoked in an opinion piece supporting the
re-election of Annette Allen to the Signal Mountain Town Council (TFP, 10/29/12). In it, Bill Fronk suggests that a "rumor"
about my dismissal from the Parks Board is false, stating, "we should not
allow rumor to replace fact."
To that end, I agree with Mr. Fronk.
But just because something is rumored does not preclude it from being true. What’s puzzling is why Mr. Fronk would choose
to bring up this so-called rumor in supporting the re-election of Annette Allen
to Town Council when relatively few people knew or cared about the issue
previously. It seems akin to the cop
standing in front of the murder scene telling passersby “there’s nothing to see
here.”
Whether I was kicked off, removed, terminated, axed, or whacked is a
matter of semantics. The bottom line is
that after seven years of service, and after being asked in writing by the town
manager if I would to serve another term (to which I responded yes), my term
was abruptly allowed to expire without public vetting nor a vote.
Why did this happen? Here are the
facts; you can decide for yourself. Last
October, I wrote a letter to the TFP voicing concern regarding Ms. Allen's proposal
to donate of conservation easements on Town-owned lands to a land trust. It was in direct response to a letter by Mr.
Fronk reportedly on behalf of the Parks Board promoting the donation. There had been no vote by the Board nor Town
Council adopting the position detailed in Mr. Fronk's letter, yet Mr. Fronk
enthusiastically supported the action, implying it was the official position of the Board. I felt obliged to provide Signal Mountain residents
an alternative view about the long-term ownership of their public lands.
Soon after my letter was published, Ms. Allen requested that she and I
meet to discuss the issue. At the end of the meeting, we cordially agreed
to disagree. A week later, she called
and requested that I withdraw my application for a new term on the Board,
stating that she had identified another qualified candidate. I respectfully declined to withdraw my
application. At the next Council
meeting, my replacement was appointed. My term was simply allowed to expire
without a vote nor any record of public discourse.
I'll be the first to admit I have a busy schedule and a family, although
I'd like to correct Mr. Fronk's assertion that I'm a "senior executive." I'm simply an ecologist with expertise in
natural resource management and passionate about raising my children in our
great community. None of this should disqualify me nor anyone
else from service on Town boards, nor should voicing differences in opinions. Unfortunately, my case is not isolated, and
some members of Council (Bill Wallace excluded) have developed a pattern of
eliminating those who choose to speak out.
One example is the ousting of previous Mayor Paul Hendricks in a behind-the-scenes
power-fueled maneuver. And, there are
other examples.
Openness and diversity of opinions are essential components of sound democratic
governance. I believe Ms. Allen and
others on Town Council are missing the mark in that regard, and I plan to vote
accordingly. There is in fact something
to see here—a political practice lacking in principle--and it's time for
change.
Dr. Jeff Duncan
Former Parks Board Member
Dear Editor,
Recently there was a letter from Bill Fronk, Secretary of the Signal Mountain Parks Board stating that "In 2011 the Parks Board recommended the appointment of a new member instead of re-appointing Dr. Jeff Duncan". This was in response to the fact that Dr. Duncan, a National Parks Service employee, professional ecologist, Scout leader and long time member of the Signal Mountain Parks Board was refused reappointment to the Parks Board after publicly disagreeing with a position taken by Signal Mountain Town Councilmember Annette Allen. I asked for a copy of the minutes for all the Parks Board meetings for 2011. There were 2 meetings, in April and May and there is no mention in either of these minutes of Dr. Duncan or other appointments. Honna Rogers, Signal Mountain Town Manager told me "I believe there was a third [meeting] (going off memory), but I do not have minutes for it. I don't think the Parks Board had a vote regarding Jeff. It's not customary for the Board to discuss or vote on member reappointments. The Council makes that decision, often with input from the Board Chair." Mr. Fronk seems to imply (and Ms. Allen has also claimed) that Dr. Duncan was removed for missing these two meetings. Of interest is that Tish Gailmard, another member of the Parks Board also missed both meetings yet remains on the Board. Also, Mr. Fronk himself spends summers in Michigan and, from what I understand the Parks Board essentially shuts down in the summer since he is not here (they apparently didn't meet again the rest of that year and there are no minutes for any meetings after March of this year except for some trail maintenance activities). I believe this subterfuge of creating political cover after the fact is self-evident.
Paul M. Hendricks, MD
former Mayor of Signal Mountain
