October 15, 2024 11:10 a.m.
The Board of Directors of the Umpqua Public Transportation District has selected Ben Edtl as the top applicant for the position of interim general manager.
Chair/Executive Director Position 2 Michaela Hammerson said the decision was reached by a vote of 4 in favor, 2 against and 1 abstention. Hammerson said negotiations are currently underway to finalize the terms of the contract with Edtl.
Edtl, who is a political consultant, was hired in September on a four-week contract to provide an emergency assessment of the district. He is a current candidate for state representative in District 37, which includes portions of Washington and Clackamas counties.
Following the vote, board member Natasha Atkinson submitted her resignation. She is the 6th member of the 7-member board to resign in recent months. A statement from Atkinson read after the vote and supplied to News Radio 93-9 FM and 1240 KQEN and to The News Review, said when she joined the board, she understood her responsibility to ensure that all people of Douglas County had access to public transportation. Atkinson said, “Recently, actions have shown we are doing more harm than good for the riders and the process is no longer democratic”. She said, “This is evidenced last month when two new board members were appointed over more qualified applicants, and today through the hiring of Ben Edtl for interim General Manager”.
Atkinson’s full statement is posted with this story at www.541radio.com
Hammerson said there are openings on one of the districts committees. Applications are posted on the UPTD website.
Hammerson concluded her statement by saying, “The Umpqua Public Transportation District appreciates the community’s ongoing support and looks forward to continuing to serve with excellence and transparency”.
Statement from Natasha Atkinson:
I voted nay for the following reasons:
When Cheryl invited me to join the UPTD board, I understood my responsibility to ensuring that all people of Douglas County had access to public transportation.
When I took my oath, I stated that I would faithfully and honorably perform the duties of a UPTD director. Recently, actions have shown we are doing more harm than good for the riders and the process is no longer democratic.
This is evidenced last month when two new board members were appointed over more qualified applicants, and today through the hiring of Ben Edtl for interim General Manager.
The critical question is: Does this board aim to preserve ridership in Douglas County? If so, the current board significantly lacks the transportation knowledge to ensure adherence to ODOT/FTA regulations. This should make us all very nervous as it flies in the face of the purpose of accessible transportation for all.
This is not opinion. These are facts. Facts evidenced by multiple items.
The letter sent to ODOT regarding the $252,000 due, a focus on potential gaps in an ODOT contract rather than on non-compliance with both FTA and ODOT requirements. Furthermore, when the general manager resigned, duties were not transferred to operational team members. Instead, the board, through the chair, maintains access to employee personnel files, Cheryl’s laptop, the payroll systems, and other confidential information. This should be deeply disturbing to us all because it compromises the responsibility of the board. These and other actions are not in the best interest of the people we have sworn to represent.
In addition, this board has been politicized. This is evidenced by using $8k a month in transit district funds to hire Chair Hammerson’s friend and political consultant. Now, this same consultant, with no relevant experience, has been hired to manage UPTD, despite more qualified applicants being available.
Is this why we are doing this work? I cannot be part of a board that is politicizing our transit district, while using transit dollars to pay unqualified individuals with dubious and clouded motivations.
If immediate changes are made, I would gladly stay on the board to serve to the original and intended purpose: to guide and foster a healthy public transit system, serving all residents and visitors of Douglas County.
To this end, I tender my resignation effective immediately.
People of Douglas County – the public we swear to serve – please demand the UPTD board hire an interim general manager with extensive and qualified transit knowledge to bring UPTD back into compliance, repay the chargers to ensure reimbursement for all spent funds and focus attention on selling said chargers.