Volunteer boards can be difficult to fill, and the Stevensville Park Board is no exception, which is why a letter asking for a member’s resignation seems unusual.
Sue Devlin, a member of the Stevensville Park Board, recently received a letter from Mayor Steve Gibson asking her to resign from the board. The letter stated:
“I will not be reappointing you to the Police Commission Board. I am also requesting that you resign from the Park Board. If you have any questions, please call me. Thank you for your past service.”
Devlin said that she had been contacted by the town clerk and told that her term on the Police Commission was up and if she wanted to continue serving, she would have to reapply. Shortly after that, she said, she received the letter from the mayor.
The mayor told the Star that when he took office, several people had approached him, including members of the staff and some citizens, regarding Devlin and her behavior in relation to the Town’s Code of Conduct, which was formalized as Resolution 444 adopted by the town council in March of 2019 under Mayor Brandon Dewey, and applies to volunteer board members as well as elected officials. Mayor Gibson said that based on the Code of Conduct, which established “proper conduct by board members,” he decided to ask Devlin to resign. He declined to say what exactly she had done to violate the code.
“I asked her to resign,” said Gibson. “I thought the best route to go in the beginning was just to ask for the resignation. I haven’t done anything else.”
Devlin was upset about the letter and said that after receiving it she posted it on social media. She sent the mayor an email telling him that she was not going to resign. “Regarding your recent letter, I have no intention of resigning from the park board,” she wrote in the email. “Your actions are truly petty and certainly not helping the town, and sad.”
Gibson said if Devlin refuses to
resign, he will bring the matter to the town council. “If it were to go to the council, it will all become public and it will be the council’s decision,” he said.
“Fine with me,” said Devlin.
The mayor said that Devlin is the only member of the park board who received a letter from him. However, he said that one other person had previously been asked to resign from a board due to a conflict of interest. He declined to say who it was or from which position.
Currently the park board has four members: Vicki Motley, Loey Knapp, Sue Devlin and Stacie Barker. Devlin has been on the board for about a year and a half. No one is currently serving as the chairperson, according to Devlin.
Gibson said the park board has had a hard time, not just getting board members but even just trying to hold a meeting. He said that Stacie Barker, the council representative on the board, has tried to set up a meeting but people haven’t been able to come.
Gibson also said that Devlin’s term on the Police Commission had expired and she wasn’t recommended to be appointed. He said the Police Commission is full, as is the Airport Board. He said there are still openings on the Planning & Zoning Board as well as the Park Board.
Devlin was a vocal supporter of the previous administration, and had often had exchanges with citizens who were in opposition to former mayor Brandon Dewey, including Bob Michalson, who was appointed to the town council after the resignation of Sydney Allen, who defeated him in the last election. Dewey was recently charged with misappropriation of funds and Devlin said that Michalson had posted on social media a picture of a set of handcuffs with the caption “Brandon’s latest wrist jewelry.”
“This is the president of the town council,” said Devlin. “This is outrageous behavior.”
“What code of conduct have I broken?” she added. “Which people said what?”