Tag Archives: Amarillo City Hall

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Grand jury no bills animal control

A Randall County grand jury has returned what could be seen as an unsatisfactory decision on Amarillo Animal Control’s controversial treatment of animals in its possession.

The grand jury decided against indicting anyone for criminal wrongdoing in what has been a major embarrassment for the city.

http://www.connectamarillo.com/news/story.aspx?id=1056604#.U5kLwFJOWt8

District Attorney James Farren expressed surprise at the no-bill decision.

I guess we have to live with the grand jury decision, given the system we have of investigating these kinds of activities.

The good news for the animals under the care of the city, however, is that (a) the two people at the top of the Animal Control Department chain of command are gone and (b) changes have been implemented to stop the kind of abuse inflicted on the unwanted pets.

Former director Mike McGee and assistant director Shannon Barlow both have “retired” from the city. They should have been canned after it was revealed that animals had been euthanized improperly. They were being administered the wrong drugs and there had been reports of considerable suffering by the animals during the process.

Changes were made almost immediately, while McGee and Barlow were put on “administrative leave,” which meant they were getting paid while being ordered off the job.

The city issued a press release that stated: “Operations at Animal Control move forward under the guidance of interim director Scott McDonald, as the search for a permanent animal control director takes place. The City continues to look at areas for improvement at the animal shelter with the goal of increasing adoptions and making the shelter a sanitary, comfortable place for animals. Improvements include operational changes and improvements to facilities, animal intake and care procedures, and employee training practices. An internal management review will be undertaken immediately to determine if there have been noncriminal violations of policies or procedures and to further assist in improving shelter operations.”

The city should proceed with that “internal management review.” Meantime, look long and hard for an administrator who will take better care of these animals. After all, a “shelter” by definition is a place where unwanted animals at least can be granted temporary sanctuary for the time they have left.

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What's up at Amarillo City Hall?

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I posted a blog recently about the Amarillo Animal Control Department troubles and suggested that the verdict may be in on the fate of the two top animal control officials who have been put on “administrative leave.”

Let them go, I argued.

Then I got a comment from someone who said the city manager should take the fall for what’s going on at City Hall.

I’ve been thinking about that and my critic may have opened a possible discussion point that’s worth examining.

What about City Manager Jarrett Atkinson’s time at the City Hall helm? It’s been a bit of a rocky ride over there. Let me stipulate that I’ve known Atkinson for a number of years. I respect his knowledge on key issues, such as water management.

However …

I can count four significant missteps on Atkinson’s watch.

* Airport manager Scott Carr quit his job suddenly in 2010. The circumstances of his departure were a bit mysterious. He left while Atkinson was serving as interim city manager after Alan Taylor had retired. The city paid Carr a substantial amount of money even after he left the city’s employment and Atkinson did not say at the time whether Carr was asked to quit. What gives with that?

* After Taylor Withrow retired in 2011 as city traffic engineer, Amarillo hired a new traffic man who, it turned out, had gotten into some serious trouble at his previous traffic engineer post in Florida. Jihad el-Eid didn’t tell the city about any of that and no one at the city apparently bothered to do its due diligence to check the individual’s work history. It turned out he was indicted in a bribery scandal and he fled Amarillo. The city fired el-Eid and then instituted a stricter vetting process for city employees.

* Amarillo sought in 2013 and early 2014 to develop a new logo. It paid a local public-relations firm to craft the design. The city then rejected the proposal submitted by the firm and turned to a city employee, who submitted a logo proposal. One problem emerged: The logo was a virtual copy of a logo already in use by a private company based in the United Arab Emirates. The firm threatened to sue for copyright infringement. The city, which wrote a letter of apology to the firm, scrapped the logo, then took part in a community-wide contest to produce a new design. Local artist Tyler Mitchell’s proposal was accepted. The city still hasn’t revealed the identity of the employee who turned in the copied logo.

* Animal control officials Mike McGee and Shannon Barlow were placed on administrative leave after officials revealed that abandoned/unwanted/stray animals were being euthanized improperly. The Randall County Criminal District Attorney’s Office is deciding whether to proceed with indictment proceedings in the case; a grand jury is expected to decide any day whether to issue criminal indictments. The city then disclosed that it has revamped its euthanasia policies.

That’s four significant items. All of them occurred while Atkinson has been running the city. Under the city charter, the city manager is in Big Man on Campus at City Hall. He runs everything. The city pays the manager handsomely to have his hands on all the levers, ensuring the city runs well.

These kinds of mistakes shouldn’t have occurred. Are they firing offenses?

Well, I’ll leave that to the City Council decide. The council hires one individual, the city manager, who it entrusts to make all other key personnel and administrative decisions. I do believe, though, that someone on the council needs to start asking the city manager some tough questions about how these mistakes keep occurring.

What’s more, I am trying to imagine these kinds of errors and embarrassments happening on, say, the late John Stiff’s watch. It’s been said Stiff ran an airtight operation at City Hall.

Has the place sprung some leaks?

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Time for change at Animal Control

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Amarillo city officials are facing a key question.

Should they dismiss the top two administrators at their troubled Animal Control Department, even though no formal charges have been brought? I believe they should go.

Randall County prosecutors are examining whether to recommend indicting someone — anyone — at the animal control shelter for alleged mistreatment of animals. The city has been pummeled by yet another serious public-relations mess. This one is as serious as it gets, in the eyes of many residents.

Mike McGee and Shannon Barlow — the top two administrators at Animal Control — have been placed on “administrative leave,” which means they’re still getting paid even though they’re not on the job.

I believe they should be cut loose. Is that premature? Hardly.

The two were placed on leave after it was revealed that animals were being euthanized using improper methods. The city has instituted serious changes in the procedure it uses to carry out that grim duty. It has conducted a thorough review of those procedures and has determined — to my way of thinking — that the department was not functioning a it should.

Who bears responsibility for that? The top of the chain of command.

That means McGee, the top man, and Barlow, his chief deputy.

The grand jury is expected to decide this week whether to issue indictments. Randall County District Attorney James Farren’s office is leading the investigation. I agree that McGee and Barlow both deserve a presumption of innocence and I’m not suggesting for one instant that I believe the grand jury should indict either or both of them.

However, the verdict appears to be in on whether they’ve performed their duties properly. Given the changes already implemented by the city, it looks for all the world as if they haven’t.

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City probe hits serious hot button

Can there be a more sensitive issue for many human beings than allegations that animals are being “improperly” euthanized?

So it is with Amarillo Animal Control officials who are under investigation by the police department.

http://www.connectamarillo.com/news/story.aspx?id=1034678#.U1gs61JOWt8

I believe there needs to be some serious questions asked here.

Allegations have been flying about the way Animal Control personnel are disposing of unwanted pets. The use of the term “improper euthanizing” sends chills up my spine and I’m sure the spines of others. Such supposedly improper activities cover a wide — and frightening — array of methods.

There allegedly is an absence of scales at the animal shelter that enable employees to weigh animals to ensure they administer the proper amount of drugs to put the animal down. What else is going on out there?

Scott McDonald is the acting animal control director. He isn’t talking much about what’s being investigated, nor is he discussing the administrative leaves ordered for two employees caught in the middle of the allegations.

Let’s hope the city releases the clamps on what it so far isn’t saying about this matter. Human beings, sensitive creatures that we are when it comes to the treatment of animals, need some answers as to what’s going on at the city-financed animal shelter.

What’s more, we human residents of Amarillo need to know what’s being done to correct what allegedly has gone wrong.

We’re all ears, City Hall.

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Amarillo's mayor does what, exactly?

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A friend and former Amarillo city commissioner posed a simple question at lunch the other day: “How do you think Paul Harpole is doing as mayor?”

Hmmm, I thought about it for just a second.

Then I wondered aloud, what precisely does the mayor do? Not just this mayor, but anyone who occupies that office.

I’ve been thinking about that ever since — and about whether our municipal voting plan produces the kind of government that entices large numbers of qualified individuals to run for municipal office every other year.

The answer to my friend’s question went something like this: The mayor’s office is basically a symbolic one. The mayor has no real power. He represents the same constituency as the other four City Council members; they’re all co-equal. The council relies on a well-compensated and competent staff, led by the city manager, to do all the heavy lifting; they prepare the budgets and make administrative decisions all across the board. The council sets policy with its votes and then instructs the staff to carry them out.

That was a long-winded way of telling my friend that the mayor — who I happen to like and respect very much, by the way — hasn’t done enough for me or anyone else to really make a solid assessment of the job he’s doing.

We pay these individuals $10 per meeting. That’s it, plus some reimbursement for expenses they might incur while representing the city, say, by attending some seminar or business-recruitment outing.

I am circling back to another idea I posited on this blog some months ago about some rethinking I had been doing about the city’s at-large voting plan. We elect all five governing council members from the same citywide voting pool. Why not expand the council’s numbers by two, elect one or two council members at-large and divide the city into three or four voting precincts from which we could elect the rest of the City Council?

At this point, I’m no longer totally opposed to the notion of creating an all single-member district council, with just the mayor being elected citywide.

The city’s population is on the brink of hitting the 200,000 mark. It’s becoming increasingly diverse ethnically and racially. It has become something of a haven for immigrants who leave their homeland and find their way to Texas.

The time might be at hand to consider a serious reshaping of our municipal government structure. We could create one that allows for some diversity on a governing body that represents the population it represents. We could give the mayor some actual clout by allowing him or her to represent the largest pool of residents. Perhaps we could actually pay these individuals more than coffee money for the service they perform on our behalf. We also might consider giving them some oversight over departments within the city and enable them to have some actual influence to ensure the policies are being carried out in accordance with City Council members’ wishes.

Maybe one day when someone asks me how the mayor’s doing, I can respond with a meaningful answer.

What are your thoughts? I’m all ears.

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What the … ? Red-light cams in hospital zone?

Allow me this prediction: The day the Amarillo City Council authorizes installation of red-light cameras on Coulter Street, smack in the middle of the city’s medical complex, is the day a recall petition will be launched to kick every one of them out of office.

I might even gather signatures myself to put it on the ballot.

Some leaders in Tamarac, Fla., though, apparently think it’s all right to bust red-light runners in emergency zones.

http://watchdog.org/132348/red-light-camera-hospital-emergency/

The idea at the Tamarac hospital zone is to catch those who run red-lights. The cameras take pictures of license plates, police track down the registered owner of the vehicle and the cops issue a citation. That’s how it’s done in Amarillo and in virtually all cities that have deployed these devices.

In Tamarac, however, the cameras are nabbing motorists rushing to the hospital to seek medical attention.

How fair is that? Not at all, if you ask me.

One guy ran a red light as he was rushing to the hospital. He got caught, went to court to appeal the fine and was told his medical emergency was not sufficient to warrant his running the light. The judge also slapped an additional penalty.

When I saw this story, I couldn’t believe it. I thought the source, Watchdog.org, was one of those farcical websites that pokes fun at public policy with fake news reports. Turns out the site is legit, and the story appears legit as well.

Amazing stuff.

Don’t even think about doing something like this, Amarillo City Hall.

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Stop the presses! It’s Sam’s!

This is a bit of a head-scratcher.

Amarillo City Hall has disclosed that a new retailer is coming to Amarillo. It’s a Sam’s Club “big box retail user” that’s going to be built near Soncy Road and Interstate 40.
Why am I scratching my head over this one? Well, the Amarillo Globe-News filed a public information request to the city seeking confirmation of what apparently had been a secret.

I’m still not sure why this event was shrouded in mystery.

The City Council annexed some land where the store will be built on Feb. 11. The city said only that a “big box retailer” was coming in.

Rumors began to fly. I had heard Costco was introducing itself to Amarillo, and that it would be the store coming to the location. Sam’s also was kicked around the rumor mill. A friend of mine in the commercial real estate business would tell me about two weeks ago he had heard it would be Sam’s. I’m guessing he had connections at City Hall, as he was able to say it with quite a bit of confidence.

However, the city kept this guessing game going for reasons that escape me.

Walmart, the parent company of Sam’s, didn’t return calls to local media. Nor did a consultant who is working on design specifications for the project.

It just seems a bit weird that information such as this would be kept so hush-hush. Was there some confidentiality stipulation that prevented the city from identifying the retailer? If so, why couldn’t the say just say so?

What am I missing here?

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Parking meters: Are they a money-making scheme?

I’m waiting for it.

Amarillo City Council members have begun talking openly about installing parking meters downtown. It’s a plan to provide a comprehensive parking plan for when the downtown district is bustling with activity once again. I am confident that day will arrive … although it’s estimated time of arrival is a seriously open question.

Parking meters? In conjunction with the parking garage the city plans to erect?

Well, here is what I anticipate — maybe. I anticipate the few and the loud who’ve griped about the red-light cameras being nothing more than a money-making scam for the city are going to yammer even more loudly about the installation of parking meters.

Is that possible? Well, in this day and time — and in the climate involving some of the municipal malcontents scattered around the city, just about anything is possible.

I have no particular gripe against parking meters. They do raise significant revenue for cities that deploy them. I would recommend the city dedicate whatever money it doesn’t pay the vendors to downtown revitalization, which I figure is going to be an on-going process.

One key element the city will have to develop is a pricing structure that doesn’t make parking on the street in front of your favorite watering hole or restaurant cost-prohibitive. Amarillo has plenty of models to follow on that one.

I don’t know yet where this discussion will go.

City Hall perhaps should get ready for the gripes that will come its way. The malcontents are out there and they’re likely just now clearing their throats.