PENDLETON — Pendleton will not be without a town manager for long, Town Council President Chet Babb said.
“It’s not going to take months; I won’t allow it to take months,” he said in response to a question from a reporter.
The comment came after a surprise announcement during the Jan. 9 regular council meeting.
Item 7(e) on the agenda that day was the town manager’s report.
Instead of hearing the usual updates on town projects from Tim McClintick — town manager since 2013, and town employee and firefighter for many years previously — Councilwoman Jessica Smith read a signed letter she said she found in her town mailbox earlier that day from McClintick, who was not at the meeting.
“Dear Town Council Members, It has been my pleasure and a privilege to serve the citizens of Pendleton for the past 41 years. As Town Manager, I have taken great pride in everything we have accomplished and planned for the future. I appreciate the support I have received from several Council Members over the years and especially our amazing staff. I wish you and the community nothing but success.
“At this time, please accept my resignation from the position of Town Manager. My last day in the office will end on January 9th, 2020, at 4:00 p.m. and my official final day of employment will be February 6th, 2020, with the remainder of my sick/personal salary paid out on February 7th, 2020. During that time I will make myself available to staff if needed.”
While some in attendance at the meeting applauded, the council members said little about the resignation, instead asking new town attorney Jeffrey Graham whether the council should vote to accept the letter.
He said yes, and the council voted 4-1, with Smith opposing.
“We’re going to set up an executive session as quickly as we can,” Babb said, noting a search for a replacement will begin immediately.
There was no mention on why McClintick resigned, and McClintick did not return calls for comment by press time.
McClintick — who was assistant planning director and building inspector from 1998 to 2003, and planning director from 2008 until becoming town manager in 2013 — is just one of several long-term town employees who have quit during the past year, which has been a volatile time in local history.
The other employees who quit did so around the time an eight-page list of complaints, signed by 10 employees, was presented to town supervisors before reaching the council, which investigated and addressed the complaints internally.
The firing, demotion to patrolman and ultimate reinstatement of Pendleton Police Chief Marc Farrer, all triggered by controversial social media posts, also caused divisions in town stretching through most of 2019.
Also, just on Tuesday, Jan. 7, the council voted 4-1 to make official a change of legal representation, switching from longtime attorney Alex Intermill of the Indianapolis firm Bose, McKinney and Evans to attorney Graham of Graham, Hopper, Farrer and Wilson, a Madison County firm.
After the Jan. 9 meeting, Babb — who said he learned of McClintick’s resignation as Smith read the letter aloud — said he would start looking the next day for someone to serve as interim town manager.
Until that time, the impact of the resignation will be manageable, he said.
“We’ve got a lot of good people here — we’ll be fine,” Babb said.
He also said the situation is “sad, but it’s time for a change.”
An executive session of council was scheduled for Wednesday (after press time) to discuss the town manager hiring process, Babb said on Monday.
Trail to somewhere
Also during the Jan. 9 meeting, Assistant Planning Director Rachel Christenson said the town is working with the Madison County Council of Governments (MCCOG) to design a trail from the new pedestrian bridge over Interstate 69 to downtown Pendleton.
MCCOG will conduct a “red flag” investigation to identify things such as historic properties or environmental hazards, factors that would affect the trail route, Christenson said.
MCCOG indicates it has the funds to help Pendleton pay for the design work, she said.
The funds come through U.S. Federal Highway Administration, require a 20 percent match from the town and will not pay for any trail construction.
Other town news
On Jan. 8, Pendleton Planning Commission met and tabled discussions on an Arbor Homes plan to build 405 homes in a section of the Huntzinger Farms Planned Unit Development (PUD).
According to Christenson, PUDs “permit greater flexibility in land use regulations, which allows a developer to use a more creative approach in the development of the land. Density requirements, setbacks, and other land use regulations may be adjusted to allow for a more desirable living environment. Furthermore, a PUD may call for the preservation of natural features, shared services and facilities, and a mix between housing and commercial land uses.”
The Huntzinger Farms PUD ordinance and conceptual plan was approved in 2003 and outlines “how the PUD will be developed, from the density, to the architectural characteristics of the homes, to road widths and other features,” Christenson said.
The planning commission, which is checking Arbor Homes’ recent primary plat petition against the PUD ordinance and conceptual plan from 17 years ago, is set to take up the issue at its Feb. 5 meeting.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”At issue” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
"Dear Town Council Members, It has been my pleasure and a privilege to serve the citizens of Pendleton for the past 41 years. As Town Manager, I have taken great pride in everything we have accomplished and planned for the future. I appeciate the support I have received from several Council Members over the years and especially our amazing staff. I wish you and the community nothing but success.
"At this time, please accept my resignation from the position of Town Manager. My last day in the office will end on January 9th, 2020, at 4:00 p.m. and my official final day of employment will be February 6th, 2020, with the remainder of my sick/personal salary paid out on February 7th, 2020. Duriing that time I will make myself available to staff if needed.
Sincerely, Tim McClintick
[sc:pullout-text-end]