Editor's note: This story has been updated with a statement from Place 3 council member Harry Hardman.
During its July 25 regular meeting, Conroe City Council accepted the retirements of the city’s police chief, fire chief and director of parks and recreation, and also accepted the resignation of the executive director of the Conroe Economic Development Council.
What happened
In two separate 4-1 votes, Conroe City Council accepted both the retirement of Fire Chief Ken Kreger and the retirement of Police Chief Jeff Christy. All five council members were present and Place 4 council member Howard Wood voted against both items.
After each vote to accept the retirements, Council then voted 5-0 to:
- Appoint Mike Legoudes, Jr., who was previously the city’s assistant fire chief, as interim fire chief
- Appoint Lee Tipton, who was previously a deputy police chief for the city, as interim police chief
Also at the July 25 meeting, in 5-0 votes, Conroe City Council accepted:
- The resignation of Danielle Scheiner, the executive director of the Conroe Economic Development Council
- The retirement of Mike Riggens, the director of parks and recreation for the city
Conroe City Council also approved contractual payments to each of the former city staff members. It is not immediately clear how much each person will receive.
How we got here
During an interview July 26, Mayor Duke Coon confirmed Place 2 council member Shana Arthur and Place 1 council member David Hairel were the council members to place the personnel changes on the agenda. Coon said it only takes two council members to agree on something for it to then be placed on a meeting agenda.
“When two council [members] put their [agenda] requests to be put forward, their signatures forward, it goes on the agenda,” Coon said. “Whether the mayor or anyone else wants it to or not, those things are put on the agenda.”
In a statement sent to Community Impact July 26, Arthur confirmed she was one of the council members to agree to accept the retirements and resignation and place it on the meeting agenda.
“I have no ill will toward any of these employees. I and my team ran on change,” Arthur said. “To make effective change it must be from the top. Procedures and policies were followed and all council [members] and [the] mayor were appropriately notified. I will continue to move forward with the vision that the citizens of Conroe elected me to do.”
In a statement sent to Community Impact July 26, Hairel also confirmed his role in putting the personnel changes on the agenda.
“I followed the procedure for placing an item on the agenda as well as following procedure for quorum,” Hairel said. “I am willing to make the hard decisions for what I believe to be changing the city of Conroe for the better. I ran for council on change in leadership and will continue to honor that commitment to the best of my ability.”
More details
At the beginning of the July 25 meeting, Coon presented both Kreger and Christy with keys to the city and invited them to say a few words. Scheiner and Riggens were not present at the meeting, Coon said.
“I enjoyed my time here,” Kreger said. “[There’s] a lot of great people, met so many people. Now I’m going to enjoy my next phase in life—retirement.”
Christy said this was not “really how I wanted to go out, this is not when I wanted to go out.”
“But I’m going out,” Christy said. “I’m proud of what I’ve done.”
Kreger was first hired by the city of Conroe in 2005, according to the city’s website, while Christy was sworn in as police chief in 2018, according to prior reporting. Meanwhile, Scheiner began as the CEDC executive director after first being named as interim executive director in 2017.
What they’re saying
During his July 26 interview with Community Impact, Coon said he did not support the personnel changes.
“I didn’t support it when I heard about it. I don’t support it now,” Coon said. “I think we’ve lost a lot of experience. We’ve lost some good folks.”
Coon also said he is asking for more transparency.
“I am going to be transparent with our citizens,” Coon said. “And so I’m asking for more transparency [at City Hall], I’m asking for Council to be a little more thoughtful as they move forward with new ideas, and to recognize that we have employees who’ve dedicated most of their lives to this city and should be respected.”
In a statement sent to Community Impact July 26, Place 5 Council member Marsha Porter said “when new leadership comes in sometimes change takes place."
“Some of our highest-paid employees were offered attractive incentives to accept early retirement,” Porter said. “This takes place all the time in the corporate world.”
In a statement sent to Community Impact July 26, Place 3 council member Harry Hardman said he was not part of the initial decision to make the personnel changes but respected the opinions of his fellow council members.
"Change is never easy, but it is inevitable and necessary to achieve the new vision and goals we have for Conroe," Hardman said. "I sincerely appreciate the years of dedicated service of all four employees, which is why I voted to approve the motions to fully compensate them per their employment contracts. I look forward to working with our new leadership team, along with executive staff and Council as a city team to achieve those goals in [a] positive working environment where we put the citizens of Conroe first."
In a statement sent to Community Impact July 26, Wood said he “was advised after the fact and after action had already been executed.”
“I truly appreciate both chiefs and their families, [so] thank you,” Wood said. “I believe [Conroe Fire Department] and [Conroe Police Department] are exemplary departments.”
Stay tuned
Coon said in the weeks to come, the city will address the parks and recreation director and CEDC executive director vacancies.
“Right off the bat, we needed to, I needed to appoint an interim police chief and fire chief as quickly as possible,” Coon said. “We’re still under a disaster declaration and the timing of these changes—it’s just not well thought out and not in the best interest of our citizens.”
Community Impact has reached out to the city for additional comment.
