The Shadow
Dear Editor,
I spoke at the Jan. 14, 2020, Clifton Forge Town Council meeting to express my concerns about the Clifton Forge Armory Committee and to recommend specific actions.
There were some comments and quotes in the Virginian Review on Jan. 16, 2020 about my statement at the meeting that I would like to respond to.
Mr. Irvine, according to the Virginian Review reporting, accused me of “….outright slander on people’s names”… The Oxford Dictionary defines slander as “making false and damaging statements about someone.” I would like to make it crystal clear that every name I stated and every detail of my statement is a matter of public record, including documentation given to me by Mr. Irvine. Stating the truth found in documents that any citizen may access, is neither false nor damaging.
It was also reported in the Virginian Review that “Irvine said he is considering hiring a lawyer because he feels that Smith has unjustly accused him of financial improprieties.” I simply said that money is not being reported in a detailed and open manner. Mr. Irvine withheld many of the financial records that I requested including bank statements. Mr. Irvine has caused his own actions to be questioned by refusing to be totally transparent.
Mr. Irvine, in a discussion after the council meeting, said to me that the reason he consulted with the state FOIA Council was, in his words “to make sure he wasn’t doing anything illegal.” Mr. Irvine thought that I had asked for records that contained names of individuals that were requesting usage of the armory. I merely wanted the forms that were being used to book the use of the armory. This is the one piece of information that Mr. Irvine claims to have withheld from my request.
In actuality, the information that I was not given was two years of bank statements. The financial records that I was given were incomplete and the majority were simply a listing of ATM cash withdrawals.
There was also an excerpt in the Virginian Review reporting that “the matter may be resolved in court” leaving the implication that I made that statement. I did not make that statement.
Please find below the complete text of my statement that I read on Jan. 14, 2020.
“I am here to express my concerns about the Clifton Forge Armory Committee and to recommend specific actions.
“The Armory Committee is a volunteer committee established many years ago to keep the Armory from being moth-balled by then Town Manager
Tracey Shiflett. The original committee consisted of volunteers and no elected officials. These citizens should be applauded for their willingness to preserve and protect this town owned building.
“Several years ago, the Armory Committee was reporting to town council on a monthly basis regarding usage and income. However there have been no reports in recent years. The previous Clifton Forge mayor had planned to investigate this committee, when he became ill. To my knowledge there has been no follow-up.
“With this in mind, I made a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request of both the town, and the C.F. Armory Committee for all records, to include bank statements, for the past two years.
“The town cooperated fully with my request.
“The president of the Armory Committee, who happens to be our Mayor, Jeff Irvine, on the other hand, consulted with the Virginia State FOIA Council in an effort to prove that the committee did not have to release all of the records that I requested. This attempt to block my request for financial information immediately raised a red flag in my mind.
“Why would an elected official, Mr. Irvine, not want to be totally transparent regarding a building that is owned by the citizens of Clifton Forge? Not only is it owned by the citizens, the citizens are also paying thousands of dollars for the building maintenance repairs, flood insurance, and utilities.
“We, the tax paying citizens, have a right to know why our mayor, who is elected by the citizens, and who works on behalf of the citizens, refused to be transparent regarding the financial matters of a building that we own!
“I would also point out that Councilman Bob Umstead is a member of the Armory Committee. And I would also ask Mr. Umstead why he would not want to be transparent regarding this matter?
“Because the armory is owned by the town, there is an agreement with the town, which outlines information that the Armory Committee is to provide to the town, on a monthly and yearly basis. After looking at this agreement and the records that I was given, it is apparent that the C.F. Armory
Committee is not compliant with the terms of the agreement, and there appears to be active resistance by the committee.
“The Clifton Forge Town Council is responsible for oversight of the Armory Committee.
“Given what I have learned, I am asking three members of this Council, Mr. David Oltjen, Dr. Ronald Goings, and Ms. Pam Marshall to provide the oversight that has been lacking in regard to this committee. I am asking that the agreement between the town and this committee be revised.
“This Armory Committee receives income from the county and other users of the building. The committee currently has over $16,000 in its account and Mr. Irvine is paying himself and his wife out of this account for services they provide to the armory.
“More importantly, because Mr. Irvine and Mr. Umstead are members of both the Armory Committee and the Clifton Forge Town Council it seems highly inappropriate that they should be providing oversite on themselves.
“Therefore I think it imperative that Mr. Irvine and Mr. Umstead make a choice between resigning from the Armory Committee or resigning from this council due to a conflict of interest, and their reluctance to be transparent with the citizens of Clifton Forge regarding the financial matters of a building that we own.”
Thank you,
Diana K. Smith
Highland Street, Clifton Forge
