Within the last week, an unexpected resignation and a challenging set of extenuating circumstances have the Washington County Board of Supervisors road-mapping new options in their search for an Interim County Ambulance Director. Thursday, recently named Interim Director Pat Curl tendered his resignation, effective immediately. Curl had been serving in the interim role for the department since being appointed on October 27th, following the Supervisor’s decision on the 20th in a special meeting, to place Ambulance Director Jeremy Peck on unpaid administrative leave for a month, in regards to alleged personnel and management issues within the department.
In response to the resignation, the board reviewed the importance of having someone in a leadership role and who possible candidates may be in the current climate. Washington County Attorney John Gish gave the group his recommendation that due to the nature of the position it would be appropriate for them to hire someone outside the department without needing to post an ad for the vacancy. Board of Supervisors Ambulance Liaison Jack Seward Jr. shared his work in the process since Curl’s resignation. Seward stated, “In conversations with various Ambulance personnel over the past three weeks, there have been some names that were suggested. I sent messages to three names that came up. I did not receive any response from one, but we were able to talk to the other two. One of them feels that the time and effort that we would be needing would be more than he at this time is willing to give. The second one, which would have been the default recommendation, I discovered this morning, has been tied up with family medical emergencies since yesterday.”
Discussion between the Board and County Counsel turned toward a plan to converse with that candidate and to also post an ad for the position as available and for a special meeting to be called to appoint someone when a suitable individual is found. While the board waits and a search continues, a discussion about leadership during this search, ensued. The remaining leadership hierarchy in place within the Ambulance Department consists of four Field Supervisors in the top positions. They are Toby Hancock, Bret Carlson, Carrie Ornduff and Chris Gerling. Supervisor Stan Stoops shared that he would like to see one individual appointed from that group as the “spearhead”. Conversation continued around a possible closed session to make this appointment and it was decided these would need to be individual closed sessions, requested by each candidate, in order to move forward in this way. If any or all of the Field Supervisors did not want to continue in a closed session, they would not be excluded from consideration, but would have their evaluation occur in a meeting open to the public. Supervisors Seward and Richard Young also took time to address what they have heard from the public or otherwise about the Board’s involvement with the Ambulance Department and other circumstances. Seward shared, “I’m going to bring this elephant out into the room. Part of the issue has been some accusations, and it depends on which side of the fence you’re standing on as to whether those accusations are true and accurate, of micromanaging. Now there’s micromanaging, and there’s oversight. These folks are about ready to see some micromanaging if we don’t have an outside Interim Director and if these four Field Supervisors can’t get along. They’re going to see some micromanaging pretty quick.”
Young added, “Well you guys (Seward and Stoops) are the ones having the meetings (with the Ambulance Department), so you would know, because I have not been involved in any meetings, even though Facebook says I am. There’s a lot of lies out there. I got out of the Ambulance business two-and-a-half years ago. I know I’m on the spot, because I know what goes on out there and that’s the problem, and some people don’t like it.”
The Board finished discussion on the item with an action plan that included Stoops and Seward continuing to work as liaisons between the Supervisors and Ambulance Department, Seward reaching out to the four current Field Supervisors to discuss closed session meetings to appoint one of them to a temporary leadership position during the search for an Interim Director, and to pursue a candidate for Interim Director through the contacts that had already been made including the possible candidate dealing with medical circumstances and others who may respond to the ad posting, and once a suitable candidate were found, a special meeting of the Supervisors could be called to make an Interim Director appointment.