Post 22 met Monday night to elect new officers, set up new committees and receive a report on the recent controversy surrounding operation of Veterans Memorial Park and the purchase of a new car by former post commander Herbert Johnson. New commander Paul Davis said the members were told that the post had consulted with all pertinent legal authorities about the matter including the Union County Sheriff’s Office, the Union Public Safety Department and the 16th Circuit Solicitor’s Office. He said in all instances the conclusion was there had been no criminal intent and so there will be no prosecution.
“We have looked for redress for this at every level with no success,” he said. “So at this point the matter is dropped unless something else turns up. The post wants to move ahead.”
Johnson bought the car in 2008 after the park’s board of directors voted to authorize the purchase. The purchase was not approved at a formal meeting but by a telephone poll of the 12-member board, nine of whom Johnson said voted for it. He then bought the vehicle for $13,900 and the trade-in of his old car which he said he’d worn out doing post business.
Though he resigned as post commander in March, Johnson still serves as District 8 commander for the American Legion and uses the car in the performance of his duties.
Post 22 has leased Veterans Memorial Park from the city since the mid-1940s, operating it on behalf of veterans and the community. The post has leased the park under a series of lease agreements, the most recent of which is a 1974 lease agreement, a vague document that makes no provision for a board of directors to oversee the park and provides no mechanism for oversight.
Davis has said the problems surrounding the park grew out of a combination of the often confusing and contradictory documents that the board and the post have accumulated over the years and a loss of institutional memory. This has led to the park being operated more on the basis of the opinions of the board members and others rather than on a written set of rules. He and other post members asked that the city draw up a new lease agreement that will clarify the lines of responsibility for the operation of the park and related issues.
Mayor Harold Thompson said last week that the city will draw up a new lease that will provide the guidance sought by Post 22. The lease will include many of the recommendations of the post’s internal review of park operations and provide for greater city oversight including quarterly or semi-annual reports from the board.
Thompson said he will also ask that the property tax revenue used to finance park operations and maintenance be sent to the city first and then turned over to the board of directors. He said this will help provide the oversight requested by Post 22.
The city currently plays no part in the distribution of the revenue generated by the fourth-tenths of a mill levy. The millage was established by state statute in 1946 and any change in distribution may require action by the S.C. General Assembly. Thompson directed City Attorney Billy Whitney to meet with the county attorney to determine the legality of the proposed change and whether it will require state action.
Despite the problems of the past, Davis said Post 22 is focused on the future.
“It was a very positive meeting with the largest turnout (32) I think we’ve had in many years,” he said. “While the membership was very dismayed with the events surrounding the purchase of the car, the post is anxious to move forward into what we feel will be a very positive future.”
During Monday’s meeting, the post elected new officers including Davis — who was serving as acting commander — as commander. The officers terms are for one year. Other officers elected were:
• First Vice Commander — Gerald Benard
• Second Vice Commander — Marion Black
• Adjutant — Scot McClellan*
• Service Officer — Susan McClellan*
• Finance Officer — Bill Goodwin
• Historian — Allen Charles
• Chaplain Keith Gault
• Sergeant-At-Arms — Arthur Jordan
(The McClellans are serving on an acting basis pending final approval at the next post meeting.)
Committees were established to handle various aspects of post business. The committees are all staffed by volunteers.
“As far as I know this is the first time we’ve had committees,” Davis said. “Everyone on these committees are volunteers, I didn’t have to appoint anyone.”
The committees and their responsibilities are:
• Americanism — patriotic observances, Boys State, Scouts, oratorical contest, school awards, and baseball
• Membership and Post Activities — obtain, retain and increase membership of the post; help formulate the vision for post service to the community.
• Public Relations — increase awareness among the veteran’s community and the community at large of the post’s advocacy of veteran’s issues, Americanism, children and youth
• Finance — supervise the receiving, disbursement, and accounting of all post funds; prepare and annual budget for recommendation to the post.
• Service — concerned with jobs, with veteran contact, visits to ailing comrades, maintaining contact with those serving from Union.
• Property and Maintenance — insuring the building, all property, and the grounds are properly maintained, accounted for, and managed; recommend to the post actions needed to do so.
• Constitution and By-Laws —writing and recommending to the post a new constitution and by-laws which conform to American Legion guidelines and which properly interfaces with Roberts Rules of Order.
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