Council names acting police chief, acting city manager

At its May 15 regular meeting, the Belleville City Council voted unanimously to appoint Police Sgt. Kris Faull as acting police chief and the city’s project manager Steve Jones as acting city manager when the city manager/police chief leaves.
May 31 is the last day on the job for City Manager/Police Chief David Robinson, who has accepted the position of city manager of the city of Monroe.
After a one-hour-and-45-minute council discussion on May 11, the city council agreed to accept Robinson’s recommendation to use Faull and Jones in those positions to continue the work he had started. He explained the police department is a para-military organization and Faull has the most seniority.
The council placed them in acting positions and said it would begin advertising for the two separate positions at once. They would both be full-time positions, going back to the way it was before Robinson accepted doing them both at once.
The council members invited Faull and Jones to apply for the permanent positions that would be advertised.
The two were invited to speak to the council on Monday to confirm they were interested in adding the new responsibilities to their present jobs and to tell the council how it could help them succeed in their assignments.
Sgt. Faull said she appreciated the appointment and believes she is ready with her college degree, 23 years of service to the city which includes 15-plus years as school resource officer, and her recent promotion to sergeant, plus all the mentoring from Robinson. She said she is, “looking forward to the next chapter in my life.”
She said what she needs from the council is their support.
“Every ounce of me knows I can do it,” Faull said.
When asked about the school resource officer position she holds at the school, Faull said one officer is thinking about the position and he would be very good at it.
Steve Jones said he accepts the acting position of city manager. He said he previously served more than 12 years on the planning commission, including the last ten years as chairman. He said he has been president of the Belleville Area Council for the Arts, president of the Chamber of Commerce, and did some of the work for both at the same time. He said he has had the project manager position at the city for four months.
When asked what he needed from the council to succeed, he said he needed similar support to what Faull asked for.
Councilman Tom Fielder said Jones has his finger on more things about the city and can keep the work going that Robinson started.
Mayor Kerreen Conley said that at last Thursday’s meeting, the council asked for a job description for the two posts to be done over the weekend by Robinson and for a budget that included fully funded line items for both positions.
Robinson said he worked hard on Friday and was able to get the council what it asked for.
Councilman Jeremiah Beebe addressed Faull and Jones: “You were picked because you’re doing really good work on the job where you are and you’re taking on more.”
He urged them to lean on folks often if they want to succeed.
“If you feel ‘I got this,’ you probably don’t,” he said.
“The key for us is communication,” said Mayor Conley.
“These are acting positions to keep the course until the positions are filled,” said Robinson. “If they are interested, I hope they both apply. I’m not going far away and will be open to phone calls, conversations. I want them to succeed and the city to succeed.
“Both Steve and Kris can stay the course … until the final decisions,” Robinson said.
John Juriga said from the audience that he had served on the planning commission for 25 years and Jones was on the planning commission for 15 and the last 10 years as chairman. He said they usually change chairman every two years but they kept Jones on because of the good job he was doing.
Juriga said Jones is a quick learner, has excellent intelligence, lives in the city, and loves Belleville. For the last 14 years he has helped with Music Lakeside concerts, Juriga said.
Sabrina Richardson-Williams, treasurer of the Downtown Development Authority, said there has been chatter about getting a new coordinator for the DDA.
Mayor Conley said Jones will still be the DDA coordinator. She said the city has a contractual obligation between the DDA and the city to provide that position. She said Jones in his new acting position will be full-time city manager, full-time project manager, and part-time coordinator for the DDA.
“You’re such a go-getter, I though you might do both jobs, Monroe and here,” said Richardson-Williams to Robinson.
Randy Brown asked from the audience if Faull was the first woman to serve as acting police chief and was told she was.
Mayor Conley said Faull is well-qualified and that’s why she was chosen. “It’s a benefit she is a woman,” she said.
Robinson said on Friday he was a little bit busy getting everything together that the council wanted and he thinks they’ve figured everything out for the transition.
“We have good people here and I’m not allowed to steal them,” Robinson said. “The city has a very special place in my heart. We have had a lot of achievements, but have a long way to go. The great people of the city have made this possible.”
This was Robinson’s last meeting as city manager/police chief.
At last Thursday’s meeting, Councilwoman Kelly Bates asked how much the two acting employees would get for the extra work and there was some conversation on maybe there should be something and that would be determined later.
Councilman Beebe said businesses don’t do that, but Mayor Conley said municipalities do that. A recommendation will be made on an amount, she said.
In other business at Monday’s meeting, the council:
• Approved adjustments to Lake Fest activities on June 23, 24, 25 as detailed by chamber president Therese Antoinelli, including a petting zoo and pony ride for the children’s area. She said she found more vendors and may need to stretch the closed part of Main Street to Second Street instead of Third. Main Street will be closed Friday night for the pub crawl and movie on Main, she said. Mayor Pro-Tem Ken Voigt said they could close it all the way to Five Points, as was done for Strawberry Fest. Antoinelli said the Corvette Club of America wants to bring 50 cars so that could be a plus;
• Heard a report from Building Official Rick Rutherford about steps taken for city road improvements. Bids will be going out soon on some of the projects;
• Heard Robinson say that Norfolk Southern patched the railroad crossings that had been so bumpy. They did a job in Taylor and then they shot out to Belleville earlier that day. Mayor Conley said the Council of Western Wayne met the previous Friday and when those rough crossings were discussed, the representative said he never heard about that problem; and
• Approved accounts payable in the amount of $172,452.15 and the departmental purchases in excess of $500: to DeWolf & Associates, $1,190 for first line supervision training for Sgt. Faull and Sgt. Schrecengost; to Hennessey Engineers, $1,442 for the water reliability study, and to Mr. Muffler, $3,443.20 for repairs to the 2017 work truck.