[V]ERNON — Investigators with the Vermont State Police were at the Vernon Town Hall Tuesday morning requesting copies of Select Board meeting minutes from October 2015 to March 2016.
According to Scott Waterman, public spokesman for the State Police, “Troopers are looking into an unsubstantiated tip.”
Cindy Turnley, the town treasurer, told the Reformer a detective with the Vermont State Police was in her office on Monday, requesting copies of accounts payable warrants presented to the Vernon Select Board in December 2015. Turnley said one of those warrants included payment to former Select Board Chairwoman Patty O’Donnell for $5,028 in legal fees.
O’Donnell, a former state legislator, spent three years as a member of the Vernon Select Board, before resigning her post in April 2015.
On Sept. 20, 2014, a friend of O’Donnell’s was stopped for suspicion of driving under the influence. In the wake of the arrest, O’Donnell made repeated calls to sheriff’s personnel. The Windham County Sheriff’s Office complained of a possible attempt to obstruct justice, while O’Donnell maintained that she had been calling into question the conduct of the arresting deputy, who drew a firearm after the driver allegedly failed to stop.
O’Donnell’s case went before a grand jury, which determined there was not enough evidence to indict her for obstruction.
Turnley told the Reformer that initially, O’Donnell paid her legal expenses out of her own pocket in early March 2015. Later that same month, the Select Board voted to reimburse O’Donnell but after a public outcry, O’Donnell paid the town back for the reimbursement. However, noted Turnely, in December 2015, she presented to the board an accounts payable warrant that included repayment to O’Donnell for the total amount, which the board approved.
At the time of the uproar over O’Donnell’s actions, members of the Vernon Voters Alliance called into question her reaction to the arrest and whether she could continue to represent the town’s best interests.
A member of the Vernon Voters Alliance, who asked that her name be kept confidential, did confirm to the Reformer that a letter was recently sent to the Vermont Attorney General’s Office, but she declined to comment on the content of the letter. John Treadwell, an assistant attorney general in the Vermont Attorney General’s Office could not confirm or deny whether the AG’s Office asked the Vermont State Police to visit the Vernon Town Hall, but he did confirm possession of the letter. The Reformer has filed a public records request for a copy of the letter but has not yet received a copy.
Josh Unruh, the current chairman of the Vernon Select Board and also a Reformer employee, was a board member in December 2015. He said the board was advised by legal counsel to reimburse O’Donnell because it “was the right thing to do,” based on Title 24 of Vermont State Statutes.
“It’s my opinion that the intention of the Vernon Voters Alliance in this case is to continue to defame Patty O’Donnell and I find that unacceptable,” said Unruh. “I hope as a group in the future they work to unite the town and not divide it.”
Bob Audette can be contacted at 802-254-2311, ext. 160. Follow him on Twitter @audette.reformer.
