Ontonagon village president questioned about firing of village manager

In a brief question and answer session, Ontonagon Village President Tony Smydra addressed questions surrounding the firing of Village Manager Joe Erickson.

Q) The Feb. 25 special meeting of the village council was called in something of a hurry with a posting only at the village offices. What precipitated calling a meeting on such short notice?   

 Smydra: “I called for a special meeting because it was discovered that the final payment for the Marina Dredging grant had not been received.  To receive the payment, the village would have to pass a resolution and agree to sign a contract extension.  I did not feel it was wise to wait for two weeks for a regular Council meeting to address the matter.”

Q) The posted agenda only mentioned one item, Marina Grant and other related issues.  How did this come to include the firing of the Village Manager on such short notice? 

Smydra: “After we passed the resolution and agreed to the contract extension with the DNR, there was a discussion on what happened – What was the reason the village had not received the final payment?  As a result of the discussion, it had become clear that Mr. Erickson had not submitted the required paperwork.  As he was the responsible party and the potential financial implications to the village, his employment was terminated”.  

Q) Did former Village Manager, Joe Erickson, have any intimation that this special meeting would end with his termination? 

 Smydra: “I wouldn’t think so as no one would have had any such intimation.  His termination was a result of the discussion that followed the passing of the resolution and the extension of the contract.” 

Q) The final vote was split, with three votes to fire the Manager and two votes against. Obviously, there was some reluctance on the part of two trustees to take this action. In view of the fact that you had only five out of seven council members present, it seemed that this decision was being made in something of a hurry, however, there seemed to be no real effort on the part of the dissenting trustees to table action on the firing until two new trustees are seated in March. Comment, please?  

 Smydra: “Currently, our council consists of four trustees and myself.  Two additional council members will be seated on March 8th. To conduct any business, a quorum of four council members is required.  We had a quorum and conducted business with 5 members as we have done since Maureen Guzek’s passing.  Nothing was done “in a hurry.”  We addressed a situation as it unfolded before us.” 

Q) We have been given to understand that Mr. Erickson’s termination was on the basis of his mismanagement of an MDNR grant that is paying for the dredging of the Ontonagon Village Marina.  Specifically, how many dollars did this involve and will the village be able to recoup these grant funds? 

 Smydra: “If my memory is correct, it was something in the range of $134,000.  Yes, the village will recoup those funds.  That was the purpose of the resolution and the contract extension.  We now have until December 31, 2021, to submit the required paperwork to secure those grant funds.” 

Q) It must be clarified for our readers:  is Mr. Erickson under suspicion of any criminal mishandling of Village funds? 

 Smydra: “Oh, goodness, no!  I am not aware of any allegations of that nature.  The action on the part of the village council was simply a direct response to a specific situation related to the marina dredging grant.  We will be getting those funds once the village submits the appropriate paperwork.”