A Lake Placid Town Council that has largely supported Mayor Colleen Charles during her first months in office left her choice for town administrator without a vote Thursday night, offering no public explanation for its refusal to move the appointment forward. Charles selected Jordan Fairfield for the position and asked Town Council to consent to the appointment, as required by the Town Charter.
After 30 minutes of discussion, Joy Eberhardt begrudgingly moved to consent to Fairfield’s appointment. No council member seconded the motion. Without a second, the motion died, and the Council never voted on Fairfield’s nomination.
“The mayor has the authority to appoint with the consent,” Town Attorney Michael Durham confirmed during the meeting. But instead of considering the selection Charles brought forward, the discussion quickly became about Interim Town Administrator and Police Chief Mark Schneider, the candidate she had not selected. Councilwoman Nell Hayes made it clear she did not want to follow that process as outlined in the Town’s Charter – The Mayor, with the consent of the Town Council, shall from time to time appoint employees of the town. These shall include, but not be limited to, Police Chief, Fire Chief, Town Clerk, Town Attorney, Town Supervisor, employees or technical consultants.
Rather than address the appointment Charles had made, Hayes repeatedly pushed for Interim Town Administrator and Police Chief Mark Schneider, the candidate the mayor had not selected.
Schneider ultimately stepped in himself. He told council that the mayor and town administrator have to work together and said he believed what was happening was “driving a wedge in our town.” Then he formally withdrew his application. “I would like to go ahead and formally rescind my application for the town administrator job,” Schneider said. He also told council he believed Fairfield “would do good for our town” and “would be good in the position.”
The town is now back where it started. But Thursday night left an unanswered question. What changed? Before the interviews, two council members acknowledged that the selection was the mayor’s decision. According to sources, two council members even questioned their particiaption in the interview process noting “it is the mayor’s choice”.
The interviews were held. The mayor made her selection. Then council met Thursday night and that previous support and committment vanished. Council members gave no reason for their lack of support though it was clear to see a coalition had formed as Sapp stated “I think we’re all kind of thinking the same thing right now. I haven’t spoken to them, but by the lack of consent…”
In the end, Schneider was the one who articulated the process most clearly: The mayor had made her choice. He respected it. Council, however, did not.
