Contention has led to absences, restraining order
Robbinsville – Things between Mayor Steve Hooper and Alderman Shaun Adams have finally reached a breaking point.
Adams, who did not respond to The Graham Star’s request for comment, began missing town meetings following a special called assembly in late March – including Friday’s in-person meeting, the first of its kind in months. Collectively, Adams has not been present for seven consecutive Robbinsville Board of Aldermen meetings. During his absence, Adams has continued to collect his $800 monthly payment for serving on the board.
Pre-COVID board meetings were overcast with tense feelings, as Adams continually took Hooper to task over his town vehicle and repeatedly asked the board for missing credit card receipts. That was fueled by state auditor Beth Wood’s report filed in May 2019.
In response, Hooper has kept stringent mileage records for the town vehicle, while town finance officer Sonya Webster has worked diligently to provide Adams with the requested credit card information. But the issue between Adams and Hooper moved to a personal level in late June.
Restraining order
According to the no-contact order filed in Graham County District Court, during a visit to the recycling center June 17, Hooper and town employee Lamar Williams were surprised by the arrival of Adams at the site.
Hooper and Williams were at the center to speak with Gavin Colvard about the town taking over the receiving station when Adams approached and asked Hooper why he had the town car outside of city limits. Hooper said he was there conducting town business.
“After two or three times (of) me telling him this my temper got the best of me, and I stood up and was almost nose to nose with him, and he backed up to nearly the door, and at that time Gavin Colvard told him to leave,” Hooper’s written statement reads. “When he left he removed a pen looking object and mashed a button, and went to his truck. This is when I sat down in (a) chair, and started to have chest pains and being somewhat short of breath.”
Hooper went home and attempted to curb the chest pains with nitroglycerin tablets. An ambulance was summoned to his residence, where he was taken to a helicopter pad and life-flighted to Mission Hospital in Asheville.
This incident was the final straw for Hooper, who filed a temporary no-contact order in District Court five days later.
“This is the second or third time he has accused me for misuse of the red Ford Explorer,” Hooper’s statement continues. “All of those were very heated times that he was mad and raising his voice over the car and also telling me I’m overpaid.
“He gets upset every time the red car is used by me. I am disabled and I cannot do what I could do 10 years ago. I don’t know with his violent aggression whether he might have a gun or a knife.”
The matter was set to be heard in court July 8 but was continued. Both Adams and Hooper have retained legal counsel for the next hearing.
Cleaning up the town
To say Sonya Webster had a mess on her hands when hired as the Town of Robbinsville’s finance officer in February 2018 would be a gross understatement.
“Shortly after I was hired, North Carolina state auditors conducted an audit on the town’s records,” Webster said. “They had been given a tip that the town’s administration had mishandled the taxpayer’s funds.
“The audit was for the time period of July 1, 2016 to April 1, 2018.”
It was hard to argue with the auditor’s findings, with the “key findings” listed in the report stating two glaring problems:
* “Town officials and employees spent over $34,000 on credit card purchases without adequate documentation to support a business purpose.”
* “Town officials and employees spent over $30,000 on fuel without adequate documentation to support a business purpose.”
The report went on to recommend that the town seek reimbursement for undocumented/unauthorized purchases.
Adams was appointed by the board to conduct its own investigation into the matter, where many of those purchases simply could not be accounted for. Credit card statements and receipts were either misfiled or missing altogether at Town Hall, something Webster has yet to fully resolve.
“As they were requesting information, I noticed that many records (from) 2016-17 were missing, including credit card statements,” Webster said. “Since then, I have locked my file cabinets and the town’s record room. I requested all the missing credit card statements from the credit card companies. Any and all statements that I received were given to both the state auditors and Shaun Adams, as requested.”
Much of the mystery for Adams has been around a credit card previously issued to the Robbinsville Tourism Authority.
The card, which was closed in 2016, is still an open case.
“There were some 2014 and 2015 statements for (the) Robbinsville Travel & Tourism credit card that was closed in 2016 – that Shaun Adams has requested – that I have not received to date,” Webster added. “This was discussed with the board, and they instructed me to not worry about the statements, since they did not have anything to do with the state audit.”
One of the town’s cards showed a March 30, 2017, purchase at the Foxy Lady – a boutique in Myrtle Beach, S.C. – totaling $429.17. Another on a card in Hooper’s name was made at the Rioz Brazilian Steakhouse in Myrtle Beach that totaled $403.83.
As part of the town’s response to the auditor’s findings, all but two of the five cards issued to the town have been cancelled. Hooper holds one, while the other stays at the office for emergency expenditures. Likewise, gas is only purchased through the Wex fuel system for town vehicles only, rather than issuing individuals gas cards.
Webster continued to stress the extra security that the paper trail at Town Hall is under.
“I would like to state that all credit card statements and the necessary backup from my time of employment are located at the Town Hall, and are securely locked up, to avoid this issue in the future.”
Council meeting
Aldermen Debbie Beasley and Brian Johnson still conducted town business with Hooper at Friday’s meeting, which included approving a slew of expenditures.
* The board sifted through its options for the next phase of mold treatment at Town Hall. The latest steps will see Cox Roofing replacing the roof and gutters, at a cost of $22,900, and the removal of the old chimney – which has been narrowed down as one of the culprits behind the leaks that caused the mold issue – at an expenditure of $3,750.
Cliff Hall was also awarded a contract for pressure-washing and replacement of two exterior windows, which will cost roughly $1,300. The repairs will be made using unrestricted funds and will begin after a budget amendment is approved at the next meeting.
* Cleaning out two of the town’s water reservoirs will occur, thanks to a $4,000 budget amendment.
* The town elected to allow the county, which is manning the septic receiving station, to keep any fees collected from camper dumps.
* A new notification system – called Code Red – will alert town residents of water outages, boil advisories and any other notifications deemed necessary. The system will send out notifications via phone call, text and email and will cost the town $1,200 a year. Customers will need to register for the service.
* The board also approved the appointment of Becky Ward to the Robbinsville Tourism Authority Council, as well as the re-approval of Adams. Both will serve one-year terms.
* Webster gave the financial report, which reported a balance at the end of the fiscal year – June 30 – of $103,854, which will roll into the fund balance for 2020-21.