Change of venue for retreat causes spat

A last-minute change of location for Troutman’s annual planning retreat caused a spat among town board members and prompted two alderman to skip the retreat.

At a special meeting held Feb. 7, the board voted 3-0 to move the Feb. 9 retreat from the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge on Dover Road to Town Hall. Aldermen Mike Spath and Jason Major did not attend either the meeting or the retreat two days later.

The town had booked the FOP lodge, for free, in November. But on Feb. 4, a quartet of town officials inspected the facility for the first time, and word quickly leaked out that the retreat would be moved to Town Hall. At their monthly meeting the next day, FOP Lodge Past President Doug Wyatt lashed out at the town. “They’ve had the room booked since November, so why are they changing the location now? We’ve turned away several other events to accommodate the town.”

Mayor Elbert Richardson said the town would send a $300 check to the FOP to make up for some of their lost revenue, but he said the FOP was just too big. “With the small crowd we expect, they’d be overwhelmed by the size of that room.” When asked why the town leaders had waited until last week to inspect the room, he said they couldn’t get the key for the room before then.

That explanation did not sit well with Spath, who is mayor pro-tem and functioned as the town’s acting mayor last year for several months while Richardson was ill. “I have no problem with them moving the meeting, but I have a huge problem with doing it just two days before the event. I was elected by the people to do the right thing and I will not participate in this demonstration of poor judgment by the town.”

The friction over the retreat’s location is just the latest to surface recently. At their January town board meeting, Major asked that the issue of town board meeting minutes be placed on the planning retreat agenda.

The minutes have become a lightening rod after Major and Spath took exception to the fact that information concerning credit card expenses charged to the town by the former town manager, which had been discussed at a public agenda briefing, was omitted from the official version of the town minutes.

“We need a system which provides complete transparency and accuracy,” said Major. “We also want these minutes to be fully accessible on the town’s website.”

Despite Major’s request, the minutes were not discussed at the retreat, which was attended by only two of five board members, along with the mayor. Town Manager Ann Bailie said the retreat may be rescheduled.