Monday night’s meeting of the Indianola Board of Aldermen erupted into a shouting match between Mayor Steve Rosenthal and Alderman Marvin Elder, in which Elder appeared to make a veiled threat of violence against the mayor during the open session, and according to Rosenthal, again during executive session.
The city leaders’ latest blowup happened after questions about the animal shelter - an item that was not on the agenda - were directed towards director Elizabeth Elmore.
At the end of the departmental reports segment of the agenda, Elder announced that he had four unanswered questions from a previous meeting and began querying Elmore, who was seated in the audience.
In his first question Elder asked, “Do the city or the humane society receive any funds from the animals that we transport, that’s a yes or no answer?”
Elmore said, “I don’t know the answer to that question.”
Sunflower County Humane Society President Kathryn Lancaster was in the crowd and spoke up and told Elder that it depended upon which companies carried out the transport.
According to Lancaster, at least one company sends $100 per dog back to the humane society for the dogs that they receive, however she was not aware of any payments coming to the city.
Emphasizing that the city also incurs a debt for the care and housing of those animals for which it is not reimbursed, Elder reiterated and subsequently asked if the city has any documentation of the receipts to the humane society. “Because if money is coming back out there, we should have a record that it’s coming back. But I think you done answered, we got a problem with that,” Elder said.
Rosenthal injected that the humane society shares the cost of care for the animals by paying a large portion of the veterinarian bills.
Elder’s second core question was whether any city employees were working with the transporters of the animal and he wanted to know if it was done as volunteer work or while the shelter employees were on the city’s time clock. Rosenthal stated that it was likely while they were on the clock.
Rosenthal then stressed, “The goal of the shelter is to reduce the stray animal population in the city of Indianola. Their (city workers) job is to assist in making sure that is accomplished.”
He also asserted that the humane society spends large sums of money to aid in that goal and maintained that it takes effort from the city workers, volunteers and the humane society to accomplish it.
“Otherwise we might as well just shut it down and be done with it,” said Rosenthal.
Elder proceeded with the third of his aforementioned four questions.
“Do we have any board member’s family working transporting the animals?” he asked.
At that point, Rosenthal interrupted, “Wait a minute here, what agenda item are you on?”
Alderman Sam Brock, apparently in support of Elder, said, “Ask the question.”
Amid the vocal disarray, Elder responded with a statement that raised a loud guffaw from the audience, which prompted Rosenthal to asked Elder to show him that on the agenda.
“It’s on the agenda,” Elder said.
Then with a gesture towards Elmore said, “This is a department head.”
Rosenthal then stated that there was no departmental report or discussion regarding the animal shelter on the list of items for that night.
Elder said, “She hasn’t been on the rotation in the last three times.”
Elder then attempted to ask his question again, however he was cut short by Rosenthal rapping the gavel and declaring that Elder was out of order.
Undeterred, Elder doggedly persisted in his interrogation of the shelter director
“Answer the question, tell the truth,” he said.
All the while, Rosenthal is repeatedly calling Elder’s name and trying to get him to desist with the questions.
Elmore eventually responded affirmatively.
“You said ‘yes sir,’ didn’t you? Have a seat. Now, I have another question,” Elder said.
Rosenthal rapped the gavel again.
“I said no, you are out of order.”
Unrelenting, Elder continued. “Do we have any employees out there sheltering or housing any animals out there at the pound for private citizens, yes or no?”
Rosenthal answered, “No, they will not answer per my instruction.”
Elder indicated that he was talking to Elmore and that she had responded and he thanked her for being truthful.
Rosenthal then directed his remarks to Elder and denounced his line of questions.
“You cannot go off kilter,” Rosenthal said, and returned to agenda items.
A few minutes later the shouting began again when Rosenthal called for a second on a motion by Elder to go into executive session, but none of the other aldermen responded.
“I take it we have no other business to do,” he said.
Rosenthal then rapped the gavel, but Elder soon contested that.
“Mayor, you can’t unilaterally adjourn no meeting,” Elder said. Rosenthal indicated that was what he did and implied that Elder was not paying attention.
“If you would listen and keep your mouth closed,” retorted Rosenthal.
Elder then asserted that he wanted to go into the closed session and that he was within his rights because they still had a quorum.
Rosenthal again said that Elder’s motion died due to lack of a second and reproved the alderman,
“If y’all would listen rather than talk, you would hear what’s going on in this meeting,” he said.
Elder then advised Rosenthal that he does not have the power to end a meeting and insisted that Rosenthal did not want to go into executive session.
“No, I want aldermen who will listen rather than barrel on like they don’t have sense,” Rosenthal retorted.
That remark evoked catcalls from the audience and Elder told Rosenthal, “You know what, you’re going to end up just like somebody else did you once before. Because what you need to do is hit that door, you’re wrong, I don’t play that.”
This comment appeared to be in reference to a 2011 incident where former Indinaola Alderman and current District 31 Representative Otis Anthony II got into a physical altercation with Rosenthal.
Anthony was initially found guilty of simple assault with bodily injury but later pleaded to a lesser charge of disturbing the peace during an appeal.
More discussion ensued with Elder insisting that they go into the closed session, because he said that Rosenthal did not have the power to end the meeting.
“You should have learned that down there at the ethics committee,” Elder said.
Rosenthal contended that he called for the action and no one responded. Alderman Ruben Woods finally seconded Elder’s motion since Rosenthal asserted that he had not closed the meeting.
“I will allow, even after the gavel has been hit, because I do have the power, I will allow his second and we will go into executive session.”
Attorney Gary Austin cautioned that a vote needed to be taken first. During the exchange, Fratesi left the room.
When Rosenthal discovered that Fratesi was gone, he indicated that he would leave also and that would leave them without a quorum (Alderman Darrell Simpson was absent).
“Oh, is that how y’all planned that?” Elder responded.
Rosenthal told Elder that was not a plan, and that he did not want to leave, but since they wanted to play games, he could play too.
In the aftermath of the heated discussions, two agenda items, approval of the departmental reports and approval for the fire department to conduct their annual Muscular Dystrophy Association fundraiser, initially failed to get approval because none of the aldermen offered a second to the motions made by Fratesi.
However, the city leaders revisited and finally voted to approve the MDA fundraiser after it was brought to their attention that they failed to vote on it.
