Cayce council reviews attorney report on museum commission, debates revamping volunteer appointment process

Cayce Mayor Elise Partin and City Council on Jan. 10 reviewed a city attorneyinvestigation into remarks by a Museum and Historical Commission member and spent much of the meeting debating whether the city should change how it vets and appoints volunteers to boards and commissions.

City Attorney Danny Crowe delivered the investigation and said his review was limited to "the incident involving the City employee and Marion Hutson as well as the issue of whether that incident reflected any broader negative racial attitudes or culture of the Museum Commission." Crowe told Council he would provide copies of the written report and attachments to the mayor and make them available to the public on request.

The report prompted sharply different responses from council members. Mayor Pro-Tem James E. Jenkins urged restructuring the Museum Commission, removing its chairperson and creating an advisory board. "The Chairperson of the Museum Commission needed to be removed from that position and more citizens needed to be involved," Jenkins said.

Mayor Elise Partin said the report had been "heartbreaking to watch," citing what she described as antagonism toward staff and a lack of African American representation in the commission's history. "The Museum belonged to the City and was run by the City as it should be," Partin said, and she asked council and staff to prepare follow-up action items for a future agenda.

Several members of the public who spoke during the meeting urged a broader inquiry. Jessica Johnston told council she had sent questions to Crowe on Dec. 11 about related conduct and that she and others believed the investigation should consider instances that affect city staff or citizens, including complaints she said involved people with disabilities. Crowe said some public submissions were "beyond the scope of his investigation" but invited resubmission for consideration.

Council debate centered on whether Cayce should adopt a more formal volunteer appointment process. Assistant City Manager Tracy Hegler reported staff had surveyed six municipalities; common practices included staff vetting applicants or council selecting from staff recommendations, occasional background checks and, in some places, applicant interviews or discussion in executive session. Hegler said staff had no formal recommendation and that any change was at council's discretion.

Council Member Phil Carter recounted past problems he said illustrated a need for stronger vetting, including an earlier case he said involved an applicant later found to be on a federal watch list. "We used to basically rubber stamp applications," Carter said, arguing the city should consider background checks and interviews, at least for statutorily required boards.

Council Member Hunter Sox pushed for a workshop to craft new procedures. During the discussion, Sox said appointments in prior years had included individuals he described as "sexual predators" and a "racist" and said the investigation showed repeated reappointments of problematic individuals. Mayor Partin called that characterization "a false accusation." The workshop motion was discussed but not acted on that night; the item was on the agenda for discussion only.

Despite the debate over process, council unanimously approved a motion from Sox (seconded by Phil Carter) to appoint Kelly Wuest to the Beautification Foundation, Marcy Link Hayden to the Museum Commission, Richard Boiteau to the Planning Commission and Travis Basnett to the Standard Technical Codes Board of Appeals.

Council members clarified handling of an earlier excluded application for the Museum Commission that had been discussed in executive session in November; Phil Carter and Tim James recommended the application remain on file pending any new procedures. Mayor Partin asked council members to submit suggestions for follow-up action items so staff could prepare them for the next meeting.

There were no items for Executive Session and the meeting adjourned at 7:48 p.m.