The Maysville Board of Trustees has hired Avery Jones as the town’s police chief and fired Maysville police officer Paul Bush. The actions come on the heels of a barrage of Maysville Town Board meetings in the last month where trustees have met in executive session to discuss several employment items related to the town’s police department.
The board voted to hire Jones as chief during a special meeting on Jan. 12. Trustees Lois Parks, Janet Davis, Cindy White and David Uhles voted to hire Jones at $20 per hour, with Maysville providing a vehicle for use to and from work only. Trustee Couch voted against the measure. Jones, who lives in the Oklahoma City metro area, has worked as a paid reserve officer for Maysville for two years. He has previously served as chief of police in Dibble and is certified as a K-9 handler. Transportation was provided, in part, to facilitate resuming a K-9 unit in Maysville, Mayor Cindy White told the News Star.
Trustees voted to terminate Bush during their regular meeting Tuesday night, following a lengthy executive session. When the board returned to open meeting, Trustee Janet Davis made a motion to terminate Bush “for the good of the service.” Trustees David Uhles, Cindy White, Joe Couch, Lois Parks and Davis all voted in favor of the motion.
Bush has worked for the Maysville Police Department since January 2020, when he was hired as a paid reserve (part-time) officer. He was promoted to police chief in July of that year, when Matthew Perry resigned from the position. At that point, according to Oklahoma Statute, Bush, who is only certified to be a reserve officer, had six months to complete training from the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training and be certified as a full-time law enforcement officer. That training was never completed. Bush told the News Star he was scheduled to attend a CLEET Basic Academy class in January 2021 but missed the class because he had COVID-19. CLEET also had to modify its class schedule due to the pandemic last year.
During a Board of Trustee special meeting on Oct. 7, 2021, trustees voted to remove Bush as chief because he still lacked the proper certification and place Maysville officer Sheryl Fields in the position of interim chief. During the Oct. 7 meeting and the board’s regular meeting on Oct. 18, action was taken to return Bush to a paid reserve (part-time) officer position and also employ him as a part-time code enforcement officer.
It is unclear whether trustees intended to reinstate Bush to the chief’s position once he received the appropriate certification, but during a special meeting on Oct. 20, trustees voted to change Bush’s pay rate to $23/hr for both part-time positions he was employed under. Fields’ pay rate as interim chief was $18/hr, according to minutes from the Oct. 18 regular meeting.
Trustee John Layton resigned from the board on December 28, and David Uhles was appointed to fill the rest of Layton’s term during a special meeting held on Jan. 5, 2022. At that meeting, Trustees Uhles, Parks, Davis and White voted to terminate Fields “for the good of the service.” Trustee Couch voted against the motion.
On Jan. 7 the board held another special meeting to discuss changing Bush’s employment status from part-time to full time. After a short executive session, the board returned to open meeting and Uhles made a motion to make Bush “a full-time employee of the Maysville Police Department for the purpose of attending CLEET training beginning Monday, Jan. 10, 2022, upon meeting all CLEET requirements, effective immediately.” Parks was absent for that vote, but the remaining trustees all voted in favor of the motion.
By all accounts, Bush did not begin the training on Jan. 10.
During Tuesday’s meeting, trustees also voted to reassign the board’s department heads. White will be over libraries and the lake, Parks will be over cemeteries and parks, Uhles will be over police and streets, Couch will be over sewer, water and solid waste, and Davis will be over the town office and the fire department.
Trustees voted to approve an annual engineering joint contract with Infrastructure Solutions Group, LLC, for engineering work related to water and sewer projects. The board also approved a work order from the company related to a $52,000 grant project for sidewalk improvements on Main St. near town hall, as well as payment of three invoices totaling $68,220 for previous work.
The board also had a lively discussion regarding a proposed medical marijuana ordinance to set parameters governing the industry within town limits. Trustees ultimately voted to adopt the ordinance but omit a section dealing with patients growing marijuana for personal use. The News Star will have more on this ordinance in our next issue.
After Tuesday’s meeting adjourned, Trustee Lois Parks resigned from the board. She is moving from Maysville to be closer to family.
