Wilsonville Spokesman Online

Family Fun Center manager gets email request from city

Mark Ottenad asks Darren Harmon to write letter to the editor

• By: Patrick Johnson  
• Published: 12/15/2009 1:15:08 PM

An official with the city of Wilsonville recently requested that Family Fun Center manager Darren Harmon send a pre-written letter to the editor to the Wilsonville Spokesman purportedly supporting the city’s stance on a pending Fun Center sign application.

It is just one of three applications the Fun Center currently has pending with city staff.

Harmon contacted the Spokesman last Friday to ask about deadlines for submitting letters to the editor.
He said he had received a pre-written letter from Mark Ottenad, the city’s director of government affairs, which Harmon should sign and submit to the Spokesman.

The letter was in regards to the  Spokesman’s coverage last week of the Fun Center’s issues, including the city’s contention its primary sign is taller than allowed under city code. That letter allegedly was written by city staff before being sent to Harmon.

Harmon initially confirmed receiving an email with a pre-written letter, however, he was reluctant to answer any more questions. Two days later, when asked again, he again declined to comment because of concerns over his pending applications.

Mayor Tim Knapp and city manager Arlene Loble both confirmed that Ottenad had sent an e-mail request to Harmon asking him to submit a letter to the editor.

However, Knapp was reluctant to comment on the situation because it is a “personnel matter and also an active land use application the city council could hear.”

“I do think it’s inappropriate for the city to ask someone for a letter to the editor while they have an active land use application under city review,” Knapp said. “We always like positive letters, but if they feel they received good service from the city after the application process is complete, then we welcome them.”
Loble said that the letter was “Harmon’s to run,” but would not give a copy to The Spokesman. The Spokesman has filed a public records request for the Ottenad e-mail.

“Yes, Mark did ask for a letter to be submitted,” Loble said. “Upon reflection (Harmon) decided not to write a letter.”

Loble said that after the Ottenad e-mail was sent, she talked with Harmon, but would not elaborate on the content of her conversation. Loble declined comment when asked if she was concerned with how the situation looked. She also declined comment when asked if she directed Ottenad to send the letter request to Harmon.

Ottenad did not return calls by press time.

City attorney Michael Kohlhoff said late last week he had not heard about the situation, but said whether Harmon wrote a letter to the editor had nothing to do with his applications ultimately being approved.
“I am sure no one intended anything other than to clarify some things, or if we are correctly saying these things, I don’t know,” Kohlhoff said. “I am not quite sure how sophisticated the general manager (of the Family Fun Center) is about this stuff either. But he seems like a very nice person. Whether he wanted to or didn’t want to or wanted to clarify something, has absolutely nothing to do with his ability to get a decision in the land use. My understanding is that (the Development Review Board) already made their decision and is just waiting for him to do some follow through.”

When asked if he had prompted city staff to ask for the letter of support, Knapp said he had no idea this situation had happened, adding he found out from the third party. He would not identify the third party.
Officials with the Oregon Government Ethics Commission said that on its face, the e-mail doesn’t look like a violation of state ethics laws. Ron Bersin, executive director of the ethics commission, noted that without financial gain for a city official, it’s likely not a violation.

“There are a lot of things that may not sound like the best thing to do, but ethics laws don’t take care of bad management like this,” Bersin said.

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