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GOLD HILL Gold Hill Ethics Commission investigating city manager By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 15, 2015 @ 6:15 pm By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 15, 2015 @ 6:15 pm » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> GOLD HILL — The Oregon Government Ethics Commission is investigating potential conflicts of interest involving City Manager Rick Hohnbaum and the Gold Hill Whitewater Center. A complaint filed by former councilwoman and admitted critic of City Hall Christine Alford alleges Hohnbaum did not declare as a conflict of interest that his wife, Theresa Hart, benefited financially as a grant writer for groups associated with the project. In addition, the complaint alleges that Hohnbaum had influence on city projects that benefited the whitewater center, with which he was actively involved. Results of the investigation will be filed within 180 days of an original July 24 filing date. Alford said her intent was to hold Hohnbaum accountable for thinking he was "above the law," while supporters of the embattled city manager say his involvement in the whitewater center was never a secret and was even encouraged by officials of the small town. "Every single time he did an activity that could have benefited them, he had to tell the council and council had to excuse him for it," Alford said. "The website names (Hart) as board member. He even went to the Ethics Commission without an appointment when he realized he had screwed up." Hohnbaum declined comment on details of the investigation, while his wife said Hohnbaum did declare potential conflicts in his involvement with the project. Hart said a particularly "vocal group" in the city was causing discord for an otherwise positive project that will benefit the city. "People have a right to voice their opinions on things, I guess. I just want to say that we live in a small community and people wear many hats. When you have skills that you can use to help make your community better, you end up using those skills, and that's been the situation with us," she said. "At no time was the council unaware that I was working for the whitewater center and at no time did either one of us do anything that would have resulted in income for me as it relates to working with the city of Gold Hill." Hart, a grant writer and owner of Community Confluence Consulting, said she discontinued her involvement with the project becasue of complaints from a handful of community members. "I'm not involved in that project anymore and it has to do with what's going on. I would have still liked to have worked for Steve Kiesling, but to prevent any possible thoughts that I was accepting money for this project from the city of Gold Hill, or from anyone other than the whitewater center, I was not willing to risk that." The preliminary report from the Ethics Commission indicates Hohnbaum failed to disclose information on his 2015 annual verified statement of economic interest related to his or his wife's involvement with the whitewater project. In the report, the commission details a contract between Hart and the whitewater center, run by community member Steve Kiesling, in which Hart would receive $500 for 20 hours worth of work and a second, renewable contract for eight months of the same. Hart said she terminated the second contract because of complaints about her involvement. The report states that, around the time Hart terminated the contract, Hohnbaum "dropped in" to the Oregon Government Ethics Commission office on Feb. 25 to discuss conflicts of interest and ethics issues. Hohnbam's attorney, Lauren Sommers of Speer Hoyt LLC, states in her response to the complaint that Hohnbaum acknowledged his wife's involvement with the whitewater center and that the city was aware of both Hohnbaum and Hart's roles. Sommers' response notes that "the city of Gold Hill has a long history of supporting the idea of a whitewater park and Mr. Hohnbaum's actions were taken with the knowledge and at the direction of the council." Gold Hill mayor Jan Fish did not return calls from the Mail Tribune seeking comment on the investigation. Councilwoman Chris Stanley said she took issue with a council decision — which she and councilwoman Donna Silva voted against — to pay Hohnbaum's legal fees for the ethics case. Kiesling said Hart had been instrumental in obtaining funding for the project and that he was frustrated at the negative politics. "We were funding through Can-Do and it wasn't ever a secret to anybody," Kiesling said. "The big thing here is, if you're going to file an ethics complaint, you've got to tell the truth. This thing is so far from the truth and now it's even costing the city a whole bunch of money because the city agreed to pay Rick's legal fees after they supported his involvement all along." Kiesling said Hart wrote a grant that netted $20,000 for the project and resulted in the state awarding an additional $90,000. "The city has been supporting the whitewater park in its master plan and in conception for years," he said. "Now the city and everyone is going to spend time on this negativity while it affects a project that literally everyone wants to see happen." Alford said the investigation would speak for itself. "The bottom line is that every council person and every city official is responsible for the oath that they take," she said. "What part of the English language don't they understand?" Buffy Pollock is a freelance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected]. By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 15, 2015 @ 6:15 pm » Comment or view comments /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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