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2020

Volume 33, Issue 32

Closures, increased testing follow spike

By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor Both the State of Texas and Williamson County have seen a June spike in COVID-19 cases, leading to new directives from Gov. Greg Abbott and local decisions to be considered by county and city officials.

Confirmed COVID-19 cases in Texas increased 150 percent in June, and Williamson County cases have more than tripled, but it is the numbers since the middle of the month that have created the most concern.

Mayor Rick Hall reported Monday that there have been 40 total cases in Liberty Hill, with 15 of those reported as recovered.

Active cases in Williamson County have more than quadrupled in two weeks, jumping from 297 to 1,247, far outpacing the recoveries that now stand at 904. Hospitalizations in the county have eclipsed 100, with more than 30 in intensive care. Hospitals are reporting 27 percent capacity available in beds and only 12 percent in intensive care units.

Statewide, the number of hospitalizations have risen from 2,326 on June 15 to 6,533 on June 30, causing Abbott to suspend elective surgeries in a number of counties to preserve hospital space.

Festivities canceled The City of Liberty Hill announced through social media Friday it was canceling the Independence Day Spectacular slated for July 3.

“With the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, new orders from Governor Abbott, and concern for our citizens and visitors to Liberty Hill, we have made a very difficult but necessary decision to cancel the Independence Day Spectacular events scheduled for July 3rd at City Park,” the statement said.

The fireworks show will go on at 9:30 p.m. July 3 and will be done from the field between the Intermediate and Junior High schools,

See COVID, Page 4

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July 2, 2020 | 50 Cents

Safety of new splash pad in question

By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor When former Building Inspector Jonny Ubelhor issued the certificate of occupancy for the Wetzel Park Splash Pad last week, he quickly began to regret the decision to sign off on the project.

Safety concerns over the splash pad were the focus of the June 22 City Council meeting, where staff and the Council worked through the timeline of events and discussed potential remedies for a missed inspection that would have guaranteed the pool decking on the splash pad, but even after corrective action was taken and LH INDEPENDENT PHOTO the CO was issued, Ubelhor – While the City received a Certificate of Occupancy, which allows the splash pad at Wetzel Park who was abruptly terminated to be opened, former Building Inspector Jonny Ubelhor says he questions its safety. Ubelhor said he ultimately signed a CO last week after a third-party inspection because he feared losing See WETZEL, Page 5 his job. He was fired Tuesday.

to the subsequent report, the termination was found to be justified. But neither the investigator or the Council ever considered or discussed the lengthy statement from Campbell included in the grievance.

The Independent has obtained a copy of the grievance, which outlines in detail alleged efforts by Hall to get involved in the operations of the police department, dating back to when he was campaigning before he was elected mayor in 2018.

While Campbell said he initially appreciated what he considered greater interest and support for the department, he said the behavior and actions began to change as Hall spent more time with the department and its officers.

Campbell claimed that Hall asked, and later made threats over Campbell’s job, demanding to be sent through the police academy, and even asked that a light bar be purchased for his vehicle -- requests that Campbell said he refused.

The statement claims Hall began going on regular ride alongs with officers, as often as three times a week and at all hours. Despite the department having a policy for ride alongs, Campbell said Hall

By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer As the 2020 Day of Giving reached its end June 26, the Liberty Hill community had reached deep in their pockets, coming up with a total of $24,760 for seven local charities.

While in previous years, the totals have been higher, this year’s event faced the COVID-19 pandemic hurdle, but barely skipped a beat.

The charities involved committed themselves to creating multiple videos and using social media to reach the public quickly in a situation where up close and personal messages were not possible.

Leading the pack this year was the Liberty Hill ISD Education Foundation, with a total of $8,900 raised. The Foundation is the youngest organization of the bunch and donations exceeded their expectations.

“This was a great showing, and we’re so proud of the community coming out for us. Liberty Hill is such a great community,” said Foundation President John Newberg. “We’re so happy and proud to be a part of the Panther Nation, and they came out and supported us. We’re all ecstatic that we’re going to be able to do the things we want to do like grants for teachers and scholarships.”

Not far behind was L4 Cares, which raised $5,400, followed

by Operation Liberty Hill, which brought in $3,710.

“It went pretty well considering that everything was online,” said Operation Liberty Hill Executive Director Susan Baker. “Normally in years past, I would have a bunch of signs made and placed in business’ windows. I didn’t do it this year because I would have had to order them when so many businesses were closed. I’m not going to complain at all.

We still did almost $4,000.”

With the almost $4,000 that OLH brought in, they’ll be funding their Summer Snack Program -- a program that is already off and running.

“We’re not even halfway through the summer yet, so we’ll be spending a lot of that money right away,” said Baker. “We’re handing out a lot of snack bags. During the first

See GRIEVANCE, Page 9

See GIVING, Page 4

Grievance alleges City terminates two interference, pressure more employees

By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor A pair of Liberty Hill planning department employees were the latest City staff members to be surprised with a letter of termination this week.

City Planner Sally McFeron, who led the Planning Department up until last fall when David Stallworth was hired and placed in charge of the department, along with Building Inspector Jonny Ubelhor were provided with notices of termination citing “unsatisfactory” job performance and specifically assigning blame to them both for the missed inspection that caused delays and concern over the safety of the new Wetzel Park Splash Pad. Both have defended their actions on the project, and both said they had not previously received any notice or reprimand regarding poor job performance. Both received what they identified as positive reviews – Ubelhor in March and McFeron in May – with McFeron receiving a salary increase.

“I just got a performance review in May and a 4 percent raise over how great a job I was doing, done by David Stallworth, my direct supervisor,” she said.

But in her termination letter, McFeron was told, “The grounds for this termination are your insufficient knowledge for the basic duties of

your position, poor project management skills, and lack of communication.”

McFeron and Ubelhor join former Police Chief Maverick Campbell and former City Secretary Barbara Zwernemann – as well as former City Administrator Greg Boatright and former EDC Executive Director Lance Dean who both resigned under pressure – as casualties of what has turned into an overhaul of City staff by Mayor Rick Hall.

For Ubelhor, the termination came out of the blue and he said it all points to the issues with the splash pad.

“This just all happened at the end when this splash pad thing came up and they needed somebody to take the fall,” Ubelhor said.

McFeron, who worked for the City five years, said trouble has been stewing for months with Hall, and that the problem with the splash pad was nothing more than an excuse.

In a twist that raises questions on who was involved in making the decision to terminate McFeron, when Human Resources Director Becky Wilkins and Chief Operating Officer Lacie Hale showed up at the Planning Department Tuesday to terminate her, McFeron’s supervisor, Planning and Development Director David Stallworth,

See TERMINATIONS, Page 5

from Mayor Hall

Editor’s Note: After obtaining a copy of a grievance filed by Maverick Campbell, the decision was made to publish a synopsis of the allegations because the City refused to deal with the issue either by providing the document to The Independent or addressing the very serious accusations publicly. Mayor Rick Hall denies all allegations in the grievance, and the City Council has chosen to not respond in what appears to be an effort to keep the accusations from the public.

By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor In early April, former Police Chief Maverick Campbell filed a grievance with the City of Liberty Hill in an effort to be reinstated after being terminated a month before.

In filing that grievance, Campbell argued he was terminated not because of the incident at a New Jersey conference cited by the City Council in its final decision in March, but because of growing differences between himself and Mayor Rick Hall over a lengthy list of alleged meddling and questionable actions by Hall in his involvement with the department.

The City hired an independent investigator at the request of Campbell’s attorney Tiger Hanner to review the termination, and according

2020 Day of Giving nets almost $25,000

Two sides are worlds apart on Confederate monument

By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor GEORGETOWN -- In front of the backdrop of national tension over race relations, two groups gathered – only a few feet apart – in protest of one another near the base of the Confederate memorial at the County Courthouse in Georgetown. Despite their physical proximity, their take on history and what it means could not be farther apart.

The group protesting to have ©2020 The Liberty Hill Independent

the memorial relocated from the Courthouse grounds has pledged to be on the square in protest each Wednesday until a change is made.

Colonel Shelby Little, a Commander of the South Texas Sons of Confederate Veterans, said as long as there is a group present advocating for removal, his group will be present defending the monument.

“The statue is just like it says,” Little said. “It’s in memory of the soldiers and sailors.

It’s a generic veterans memorial to honor those men – and frankly women – who served in the war. We have over 1,000 Confederate veterans buried here in Williamson County.

There were almost 2,000 who

served either in the regular Confederate army or in the Texas state troops. Just about every able-bodied male was involved physically in the effort during those four years.”

Each group had about a dozen supporters in attendance, and the opposition to the monument calls it misguided praise.

“The real problem is that it praises people for evil acts,” said speaker Brian Register who organizes and attends similar protests in Travis County. “When it was erected everyone knew that. There was no question about the white supremacist intention with this thing when it was erected.

See STATUE, Page 3

MIKE EDDLEMAN PHOTO

About two dozen protesters gathered June 25, half in support of moving the Confederate Memorial at the Williamson County Courthouse, and the other half in support of keeping it. Both groups have pledged to show up each Wednesday for a peaceful protest over the issue.

Thursday, July 2, 2020

TERMINATIONS had been asked to come to City Hall to meet with Hall.

According to McFeron, Stallworth returned after the meeting unaware she or Ubelhor had been terminated.

Stallworth declined to comment to The Independent on the matter, asking that all questions be directed to Wilkins or Hale.

Alleged intimidation Echoing the general allegations leveled by Zwernemann and Campbell, McFeron said Hall has created a hostile work environment, and she corroborated allegations he has been seen carrying a gun at City Hall, drinking to excess and being belligerent toward City staff.

“The guy carries a gun,” she said of Hall. “He’s intimidating, he is a liar and I’ve watched him do all this. What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to deal with this?

My bad is not reporting him when I talked to the Texas

WETZEL

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

Continued from Page 1

Rangers in late April, when I called and asked what I do about this guy. They said the problem is I did not call law enforcement when something was happening. He’s my boss, he has control of the Council, he carries a gun. What am I supposed to do?”

In spite of that, McFeron said she is now focused on standing up for the taxpayers in Liberty Hill and making sure the truth comes out. She said she has been gathering and preparing information to expose the problems in city government for some time.

“There is a history of this guy wanting to discredit me in the community,” she said of Hall.

“He is discrediting my ability to get a future job and now I’ve been terminated. I’m not going to stand for this and I’m not going to lay down over it. I know so much and I’m done.”

She recognizes that she could be fired in Texas for virtually any reason, but she said like

Continued from Page 1

by the City Tuesday – has reservations.

On June 22, the decision was made by the City Council to create new deck bonding on the splash pad since there was no verified third-party inspection report confirming the work had been done. The new bonding would be accomplished by accessing the rebar from four edges of the pad and clamp the bond wire around the outside to achieve proper grounding. This would eliminate the need to cut into or break the slab to check for clamps and is work that could be done by City Public Works employees.

When Ubelhor was summoned to the park June 24, he said Liberty Hill COO Lacie Hale, Council members Kathy Canady and Liz Rundzieher, City Attorney Tad Cleaves, Planning Director David Stallworth, and Public Works Director Wayne Bonnet were all there, as well as Gerald Marinik who was hired to do a third-party inspection after the corrective action.

Ubelhor said the deck was still not bonded properly, claiming it was only bonded

halfway around the deck, and the work was done with number 10 wire, not the number 6 Ubelhor had said previously should be used.

“I saw Gerald walking and said ‘Dude, this isn’t right’ and I said I’m not signing off on it and he said he’d initial it,” Ubelhor said, who added he was then asked to leave the site.

The report from Marinik dated June 24 does say the splash pad passed inspection for the bonding, but did note that number 10 wire was used.

“I told them at the Council meeting (June 22) what it would require for me to pass that,” Ubelhor said. “If they ran a bond wire around the whole deck and bonded it to the steel. Then on Tuesday I went and did my final inspections on the building, and everything was corrected, and I saw (Public Works Director) Wayne Bonnet there going around the splash pad of the deck. He only went like halfway around and I told him you have to go all the way around the whole splash pad and bond it in four places.”

But Ubelhor did ultimately

Page 5

the key employees terminated before her, this is a process issue.

“This notice of termination they gave me, I can rebut every single sentence in this notice,” McFeron said. “They can still fire me, in the end they can still fire me. They can fire Lance (Dean), they can fire Maverick (Campbell), they can do whatever they want, but the point of it is that there is a pattern by which they are doing it and the Mayor is not being held accountable for his negligence.

This is about right and wrong.

I love this community.”

There was also a concern raised by McFeron regarding her retirement benefits as she was required to work one day in July to be vested, but she was terminated June 30. She said Wilkins and Hale assured her in the termination meeting she would not miss that vesting to receive her benefits.

McFeron has asked for written documentation affirming

that fact, but has yet to receive confirmation in writing.

Who paid contractors?

A critical sticking point in the timeline of actions and determination of who is ultimately responsible regarding the splash pad project was who approved payment to the various contractors on the project prior to the job being completed satisfactorily.

Hall denied he authorized the payment, but would not say who did.

“I am still looking into where the communication came from to approve the final payment of the project,” he wrote to The Independent.

Hall verified last week that all monies had been paid to the architects, engineers and contractors on the project, something Ubelhor said is not common practice.

“You do not pay a contractor without building finals or a CO,” he said. “That does not happen anywhere. Ask any

contractor or home builder if they’ve ever been paid in full without getting their CO. They will all tell you no. (Hall) paid them in full. And I know Sally sent the Mayor and Lacie Hale an e-mail in March not to pay the contractors because I told her ‘these guys aren’t playing and you need to make sure they don’t get paid because they aren’t going to fix this.’

This could have been straightened out in March.”

McFeron echoed Ubelhor’s comment about who authorized the payment.

“Usually it would be me and the City Administrator, but the Mayor took me off all projects in November,” she said. “We had no clear direction or communication from the Mayor.

He told me I wasn’t involved in all of it.”

The issue boils down to who released the funds, as far as McFeron is concerned.

“The Mayor didn’t do liquidated damages and he released

$100,000 in retainage,” she said. “If the Mayor had not released $100,000 in retainage, which was in the contract with J2, then the City of Liberty Hill would not be paying for bonding that project. Taxpayer dollars should not be spent on fixing this project. What should be taken to fix the problem is the retainage and making that contractor do it.”

Signs of trouble The termination may have come for McFeron without any official warning in terms of formal reprimand, but she said there have been plenty of instances over the last 12-months and longer of what was to come in what she called an increasingly hostile work environment.

McFeron said she was told explicitly in October, in an episode where she said Hall “blew up” over another issue and yelled at her prior to a

sign the CO, citing the need for his job.

“I did do the CO based on Gerald Marinik’s deck bonding report, which is not to code,” Ubelhor said. “It was my bad, but I didn’t want to get fired. I needed the job.

“What they did was not to code, it is not even close to code,” Ubelhor continued.

“I’ve been freaking out all weekend. I’ve been laying awake at night. If they open this somebody could get hurt and I’m going to be responsible. That deck is not bonded to code, it is not safe, according to the National Electric Code.”

In a written response to e-mailed questions from The Independent, Mayor Rick Hall wrote Wednesday morning that “the splash pad is safe, we have had two third-party contractors validate everything is correctly done and up to code and have had a commercial building inspection performed and it was passed and deemed safe and the city has issued the CO for the park.”

He did confirm that the grand opening planned for July 3 has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but

added that the City is considering when to open the park for use prior to a grand opening event.

When asked about the City’s response to Ubelhor’s claim the splash pad wasn’t safe for use, Hall initially declined to address the safety question, saying only in an e-mail “So you are stating that Johnny{sic} issued the CO for the Splash Pad improperly because there was still issues with the project, that is interesting.”

In a subsequent statement, though, Hall referenced Ubelhor’s comments from the June 22 meeting on what action needed to be taken to get the CO issued, saying, “We did just that and also had a different inspector come and validate the work that was done along with Johnny{sic} and the project was deemed correct and finished and the CO was issued.”

Ubelhor said at the June 22 Council meeting he first addressed the deck bonding issue with contractors in October 2019 when he stopped at the site because he saw cement trucks present.

“I noticed there was no bonding in the pool deck they were fixing to pour,” he said.

He said he then called a representative of the contractor for the work to let them know the bonding had not been done and the contractor indicated it would be taken care of.

“When I got back to the office, in October, I sent an e-mail to Sally (McFeron), the owner of the pool company and the engineers and I told them I went by and saw the deck wasn’t bonded and they needed to make sure they got a third-party inspection report for it because I didn’t see it,” he said. “In February, they called for a building final inspection and I failed all their building final inspections and I put in there that there was no bonding in the splash pad.”

Ubelhor said he believed Hall knew of the issue at least

by February, but Hall said he didn’t know that early, saying he could not recall the exact date but it was sometime in late May. With the lack of an inspection report, leading up to the June 22 discussion, the City had resorted to grounding tests and

ground-penetrating radar to try and determine if the work was done. Even though everyone involved agreed the work was likely done properly, no one was willing to sign off on the issue guaranteeing it was done correctly.

A grounding test for Ohms was conducted and read a 1.5.

According to building code, a reading of nine or below is acceptable.

In addition to the later tests done to try and verify the bonding had been done, Hall, Hale and Stallworth tested the splash pad and had no issues or concerns after.

Hall asked each of the five Council members in turn June 22 whether they were comfortable opening the splash pad if this work was done and a certificate of occupancy was received. Each answered yes, with Tony DeYoung adding that he’d like to see more regular cleaning and sanitizing in the bathroom under the current situation with the COVID-19 virus.

See MCFERON, Page 9

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