Hankel Tossed From Planning Commission; She Vows To Run For Council

September 22, 2005

By Brandon Russell
Special to MammothBlog

    In a controversial decision that could determine the tone and substance of next year’s municipal elections, the Mammoth Town Council Wednesday night voted to oust local attorney Therese Hankel from the Planning Commission.
    The decision came in the midst of a battle between the Planning Commission and Town Council over the legality of proposed construction of a 10,000 square-foot house in Juniper Springs and a gate to be erected on Ranch Road on behalf of the Fairway Ranch Road Homeowners Association.
    The vote was 3-2, with council members Skip Harvey and Kirk Stapp placing the dissenting votes.
    On Thursday, an incensed Hankel vowed to run for Town Council.
    “Since it became clear that the Town Council was going to try and remove me,” she said, “my phone has been ringing off the hook with people wanting me to run for council.
    “I absolutely will. I was disgraced by what happened last night and I am hoping that the people of Mammoth will be offended by this as well.”
    At least one councilmember, Skip Harvey, apparently was.
    “Why are we singling out one commissioner when they all voted the same (on the house and gate issues)?” Harvey asked during the discussion.
    “Therese Hankel has compassion for the community and is trying to do the best thing for the town. Before we jump into removing someone because we disagree with them, we should educate them to work cohesively with the council.”
    Although councilman John Eastman led the charge against Hankel, mayor Rick Wood was the most vocal about his support of the removal.
    “I don’t doubt the sincerity of anyone on the Planning Commission,” Wood said. “But the commissioners need to serve the pleasures of the council. If the council is unhappy, they change the commissioners where they see fit.”
    His decision is backed by a dispute he had with Hankel in mid-August after a meeting between himself and the Planning Commission regarding the proposal of a gate on Ranch Road.
    The meeting, Wood says, was supposed to be a private discussion between the two parties, but Hankel discussed the issue the next day with local media.
    “What good could that have done?” Wood asked. “It’s obstruction of our goals.”
    In response, Hankel said that the issues discussed at the August 18 meeting needed to become public knowledge. She said that the meeting regarded the legality of the gate.
    The town attorney, Hankel said, stated that in his legal opinion, the gate should not be erected.       Hankel said Wood asked her to keep her silence regarding this discussion, which she did not.
    According to Wood, the details of the private meeting had nothing to do with specific issues such as the implementation of a gate, but were about the conduct and actions of the Planning Commission. In particular, Wood said, was the way Hankel conducted herself at Planning Commission and Town Council Meetings.
    “I think Therese missed the point in our meeting,” Wood said. “I wasn’t there to talk about the vote or the town attorney. I told her we didn’t hire her to be a lawyer but a commissioner. Everyone needed to work together and there was no room for her to lawyer the process.”
    Hankel said that instead of letting her removal drop her from the public eye, she will run for Town Council in 2006. Mayor Wood and council members Eastman and Tony Barrett will be up for re-election.
    Wood said that the vacant position will be advertised for three weeks and someone will be hired for the position. They are not looking for a specific kind of person to fill Hankel’s spot, he says, but someone who will be willing to follow the council’s policy.
    “We aren’t trying to find a particular community member to fill her spot,” Wood said. “We want someone who has passion about the town and shows diversity. What we don’t want is someone who will just rubber-stamp anything that comes in front of them.”