No contract renewal for Hope Town Manager Doane

Tuesday night's Hope Town Council meeting erupted in angry shouting after a decision by the council not to renew the contract for Hope Town Manager J.T. Doane. 

Although the Council did not formally dismiss Doane from the position he has held since the summer of 2015, they did decide 2-3 not to simply renew his contract for another year. Instead, some council members suggested putting the contract out to bid. Council President Ohmer Miller conceded that as of the start of the year, the town would be without a town manager.

Miller and council members Ed Johnson and Nellie Meek voted to scuttle the contract with Doane, while Clyde Compton and Jerry Bragg strongly defended Doane and the job he has done for the city. Miller, Johnson and Meek also said that there are no plans in places as to how the contract bidding process would work, when it would start, or if they even planned to hire a town manager. 

Doane said he did not have any comment on whether or not he planned to try to apply for the new contract during the bidding process, however that might be organized.

Miller called for an abbreviated public comment period before the vote, allowing only a few audience members time to speak. That led to anger from some audience members who wanted to weigh in on the decision.

Audience member and local commercial property owner Ken Patton praised Doane for his work bringing the Hope Wellness Pharmacy and Studebaker International to town. He said both companies are in buildings Patton owned and was trying to find occupants for. And if it weren't for Doane's persistence, neither company would have come to town. 

Former council member Tim Shoaf also supported Doane during the public input discussion and stormed out after the decision was made. Shoaf and others stormed out of the meeting after the vote, expressing disgust with the council's decision.

Ed Stone, a local resident and audience member, spoke out against Doane, saying that he caused problems for the town. He questioned whether Doane was earning his keep as town manager, and questioned fringe benefits for the position.

Council members have been working on revising the town manager contract, with Miller, Johnson and Meek citing the need for more oversight of the position, more clearly defined duties and more clarity on which activities counted as official town business. They also wanted shorter terms for the town manager and for the position to serve at the will of the council. They approved the revised contract before voting not to award the contract to Doane.

After the meeting, Doane touted his achievements as town manager including bringing new businesses and housing to town, raising grant money for road repairs and projects, and efforts to improve the town's quality of life through efforts like town cleanup ordinances and the home trash pickup contract.

Several other contracts were up for renewal during the meeting and those got caught up in the decision to put employment contracts out to bid. Compton and Bragg angrily suggested that the Town Square trash pickup contract with Jeff Yarnell and the town building and zoning contract with Greg Potts  should also be put out to bid. The contract with Yarnell passed. But Johnson, who made the suggestion in the first place that the town manager contract be put out to bid agreed that Sims contract should be put out to bid also. It was not renewed.