Fire official departure was part of settlement

The resignation of Sharon Curry, former Boone County Fire Protection District assistant chief, was part of a settlement agreement between her and the Fire District according to documents obtained by the Missourian.

Curry’s resignation, which was submitted Friday, was announced Monday.

The settlement was related to a complaint Curry filed on July 17, 2006, with the fire district, in which she alleged “sexual harassment and a hostile work environment,” according to the settlement agreement.

The fire district denied Curry’s allegations.

But the board met in closed session on Thursday to hash out a settlement with Curry, agreeing to pay her $19,200 as part of the settlement, as well as $26,067.61 in accrued vacation and sick time.

The district will also pay $12,800 to cover Curry’s legal fees, for a total settlement of $58,067.61, according to the documents.

Curry could not be reached for comment. Boone County Fire District Chief Steve Paulsell declined to comment. Board members, who signed an agreement saying they would not discuss the settlement, would not elaborate on what happened between Curry and the district.

“I signed an agreement that I’m not going to discuss it, and I’m not going to discuss it,” board member Shelly Dometrorch said. “All I’m supposed to say is that the matter is resolved.”

Board chairman John Gordon declined to comment, and board member Dave Griggs could not be reached.

In her resignation letter, Curry said, “It has been my honor and privilege to serve as a member of the Boone County Fire Protection District.”

“I have been proud to serve alongside some of the finest public servants in this country,” she said. “The Fire District is justly proud of its many achievements, and I am pleased to have played a small part in making those achievements possible.”

Despite Curry’s resignation, she will still be on the Task Force 1 roster “for the purpose of being deployed by FEMA.” Any payment to her will be made with FEMA funds, according to the settlement.

Task Force 1 is an urban search and rescue team maintained by the Fire District, which works with the State Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It has 62 members and has responded to events such as Hurricane Katrina and the 2001 World Trade Center attacks.

Past critics of the fire district were happy to hear of Curry’s departure.

David Moen, the Jefferson City lawyer who has taken on the cases of several disgruntled former fire district employees and volunteers, lauded the board. “I really think the board got this done,” he said. “It took them a little longer than we would have liked, but better late than never.”

Former volunteer battalion chief Todd Burke, one of Moen’s clients, called Curry’s resignation “a good start and a step in the right direction.” He said that Curry contributed to the hostile workplace environment he and several other district employees had tried to bring to light.

Glenda Castrop, who had led a petition drive to recall the former fire board in the summer of 2005 when the district’s internal problems came to a head, said she was sorry to hear that “anyone has lost their job.”

But she went on to say that she was pleased with the new board.

“They are doing a very good job of trying to get the problems that we have straightened out,” she said.

Asked whether Curry was a problem that needed to be resolved, Castrop said, “I believe she was part of the problem, yes.”

While Gordon would not comment on Curry’s resignation, he said she was “pursuing some other opportunities she’s got.”

Curry began as a secretary in 1996 and had steadily been promoted and given raises. Her salary in 1996 was $25,120. She was paid $93,460.38 as an assistant chief mostly in charge of grant writing in 2006.

Last October, she was stopped at a sobriety checkpoint and charged with driving while intoxicated.

The board took no action against her in the matter, calling it regrettable but “a personal matter.” A trial scheduled for last Friday on the DWI charge was postponed, according to Boone County court records.

Division Chief Gale Blomenkamp said Curry would be replaced and that the board would meet soon to discuss it.

Curry — along with Paulsell — had been at the center of much controversy surrounding the fire district. In July 2005, Burke and former volunteer firefighter Deb Diller criticized the pair for their harsh treatment

of fire district personnel who spoke out against Curry.

“If you ever questioned something that seemed a little off or asked for justification, you were snapped at and yelled at,” Burke told the Missourian in a story published Jan. 14.

More recently, the fire district’s former bookkeeper, Andrea Meinhart, complained in a grievance e-mailed to the media about Curry’s harsh management style.

Monday afternoon, Burke said he would like to see the original work environment problems brought to light by several fire district employees — including former assistant chief Bruce Piringer and former volunteer battalion chief Jerry Jenkins — “followed through to the end.”

“The current board has a horrible legacy to overcome,” Burke said.

“The current board has been having more closed meetings than the previous Soviet Politburo,” Burke said, alluding to the board when it was made up of the late Willis Smith, Myrtle Rapp and Gordon. That board met in closed session 30 percent

of the time — significantly more often than the Columbia City Council, Boone Hospital’s Board of Trustees and the Columbia Housing Authority. However, he said, “they’ve had more issues to deal with, and they seem to be trying to deal with them.”

“Closed meetings should throw up a tremendous red flag,” Burke said.

Curry had recently become engaged to Paulsell, her longtime boyfriend. But Gordon said the engagement was not a factor in Curry’s resignation because the district’s anti-nepotism policy would apply only if the two were married.