[Vision2020] Response to Kimmell: Part I, Discriminatory Hiring/Contracting Practices

[Saundra Lund]

Good morning  :-)

Wayne Fox <deco at moscow.com> wrote:
"§        The contracting of the design, programming, and maintenance of the
chamber website to inexperienced, inept amateurs from NSA for over $22,000. . .
As for the pathetic chamber website, chamber members have been willfully and
arrogantly ripped off.  Besides its marginal graphical design and overall
structural inadequacies, important parts of the website are dysfunctional.
There is no search mechanism to find member businesses [Google provides such
programming free].  You can't even use the web browser edit function to find a
business since the business names, etc. occur in graphic files!  Hence, even if
you go through the slow process of going page by page to find a member business,
you can't copy the individual business information from the graphic page.
Further, it does not appear that simple maintenance procedures that chamber
employees could use have been created; therefore the chamber is dependent on the
NSA students to maintain the website.  Needless to say, the information on the
chamber website is out of date."

This is something that interests me greatly.  Can someone please provide more
information about when the change was made and over what period the $22,000 was
paid?

In the past, I have used the Moscow Chamber of Commerce Web site quite a bit &
found it very helpful and informative.

I guess I hadn't been to the site in awhile, though.  I didn't think it had been
that long, but  when looking for an apology to the community for the divisive
Kimmell/Robert E. Lee debacle, I was incredibly disappointed to find not only
that there was no apology, but also that the Chamber's Web site had,
essentially, been gutted.  No longer was it particularly helpful or informative,
which is really too bad because I used to send the link out quite a bit.

So, I'm very curious about why the change was made, when the change was made,
and over what period of time the *exorbitant* $22,000 was paid for a clearly
inferior product?

And, perhaps more importantly, how can I get on that gravy train???  I'm
certainly no expert, but I've played around with setting up Web sites and I know
for a fact I could do a superior job for a ***much*** more reasonable price!
 
 
Saundra Lund
1220 Highland Dr.
Moscow, ID

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do
nothing.
-Edmund Burke
________________________________

From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com] On
Behalf Of Art Deco aka W. Fox
Sent: Monday, September 20, 2004 12:53 PM
To: Vision 2020
Cc: Jennifer O'Brien; Rhonda Comstock; Janice McMillan; Holly Heaton; Tom
McGann; Barbara Richardson Crouch; Mark Boehne; Dr. David Leach; Dr. John
Grauke; Dr. Dustin Weitz; Jeff Martin; Pat Cummings; Dr. Candis Donicht; Darren
Malm; Phil Mack; Bob Hieronymus; Jack Hill; Susan Fagan
Subject: [Vision2020] Response to Kimmell: Part I,Discriminatory
Hiring/Contracting Practices

Preface

On August 27, 2004, a pseudo-folksy column by Paul Kimmell appeared in the Daily
News [appended below].  This column was an apparent attempt to respond to some
of the many criticisms made of Kimmell's actions in his dual role as Moscow
Chamber of Commerce Executive Director and Latah County Commissioner.  Because
Kimmell's column did not address certain important issues and dishonestly
addressed others, a multi-part response is in the works to set the record
straight.

This first part deals with discriminatory hiring/contracting practices – the
favoring of Christ Church Cult members/businesses in hiring and contracting
practices by the chamber and county – an issue that Kimmell did not choose to
address in his Pollyanna column.


Discriminatory Hiring/Contracting Practices

As Executive Director of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce, Kimmell hired at least
five fellow Christ Church Culties as employees.  Assessing generously in his
favor the odds of fairly hiring even one cultie from all the possible applicants
in the area at 1 in 50 (with replacement), the odds of fairly hiring five
culties are about 1 in 315,000,000!

One of the culties hired was Kimmell's current wife, Connie.  Can you also say
NEPOTISM?  [More about the Kimmell/Kimmel connection at the chamber will be
forthcoming in the posts on chamber financials.]

A few more of the allegations that a considerable amount of chamber money was
spent in a discriminatory manner for part-time work and contracted services are
as follows:
§        Hiring eight cultie children directly without any attempt to find other
children to do a special project.
§        A disproportionate amount of catering done by Zume, a cult member based
business housed in the NSA tenement.  [Some chamber members are also not
enamored by the quality of the alleged comestibles served.]
§        A disproportionate number of entertainments at chamber functions
provided by Eric Engerbretson, a cultie and cultie apologist.  [According to
some chamber members, a little of Eric goes a long way.]
§        The contracting of the design, programming, and maintenance of the
chamber website to inexperienced, inept amateurs from NSA for over $22,000.

As county commissioner, Kimmell recently used his influence to help install a
cultie in a clerical position in the Latah County Courthouse.


Effects of Discriminatory Hiring/Contracting Practices

Discrimination based on religious preference/practice is contrary to state and
federal law.  This is especially true of public institutions and those
organizations like the chamber that thrive in part because of public tax monies
received.

There are many secondary effects that can arise from this discriminatory misuse
of public money:

Public agencies who have contributed to the chamber either through dues or
grants can demand that those past contributions be returned for the entire
period that the discrimination has occurred.  These agencies can use court
action to force the return of such monies, if necessary.

Further, the public agencies themselves can be forced to return funds which were
given to them under laws and contracts prohibiting discriminatory practices by
vendors and/or other service organizations to that public agency.

Public agencies giving money to organizations practicing discrimination (such as
the chamber has for the last three or four years) face a loss of community
goodwill.  Just losing a little goodwill can cause a public agency to lose a
levy request or lose support for a budget increase.

I have little doubt that unless the chamber apologizes for, stops the
discriminatory practices, and removes the individual (Kimmell) responsible for
them, that the public agencies supporting this past discrimination with public
funds will themselves be the object of some very unpleasant community wrath,
protest, and action.

As for the pathetic chamber website, chamber members have been willfully and
arrogantly ripped off.  Besides its marginal graphical design and overall
structural inadequacies, important parts of the website are dysfunctional.
There is no search mechanism to find member businesses [Google provides such
programming free].  You can't even use the web browser edit function to find a
business since the business names, etc. occur in graphic files!  Hence, even if
you go through the slow process of going page by page to find a member business,
you can't copy the individual business information from the graphic page.
Further, it does not appear that simple maintenance procedures that chamber
employees could use have been created; therefore the chamber is dependent on the
NSA students to maintain the website.  Needless to say, the information on the
chamber website is out of date.

A professional could have created for the chamber a graphically and functionally
well designed website.  Such a design would have provided chamber members with
the search ability and visibility for their businesses and organizations they
have a right to expect.  The website building and cost from a professional?
Probably under $5,000!

Instead, under Kimmell's religious discriminatory contracting practices,
inexperienced, inept students from cult business NSA have been paid over $22,000
and the product is marginal at best.  This is con-artistry at its small town
worst!

Kimmell's discriminatory practices also show that in addition to getting
"oversight" from Christ Church Cult Master Douglas Wilson as a Latah County
Commissioner, Kimmell's obeying orders from the Cult Master is aiding the Cult
Master's A-Religious-Kingdom-for-Myself ambitions using our tax money.

[Question:  Do the culties knowingly hired/contracted through these
discriminatory practices, a process of community theft, hypocritically continue
to call themselves "Christians" or have they in their heart of hearts (but not
publicly) given up such a pretense?]

Obviously, discrimination based on religious preference/practice is in itself
grossly unfair.  It steals from everyone in the community both opportunity and
possible income.  Therefore, this kind of discrimination is little more than
common theft and its perpetrator, Paul Kimmell, is little more than a common
thief.  These discriminatory practices in the name of the chamber make that
organization look like a bunch of common thieves also.

Previous posters have described Kimmell and other some chamber board members as
very "community minded" and "nice."  Kimmell may be "charming," but to describe
him and his co-conspirators using the words "nice" and "community minded" when
they are, in effect, common thieves using tax money to finance their hateful
discriminatory practices is a gross misuse of the English language.


Silence of the Chamber Board

Although they have been asked several times and by several different persons to
comment on the above described discriminatory practices, members of the board
have not yet made any public comment on this issue.  [At least one member,
however, has said, "It is none of the public's business."]

Although the chamber board has been silent on this issue, one influential past
president of the chamber has commented.  Jon Kimberling in a series of exchanges
with myself, made these remarks, perhaps speaking for the present chamber:

”Wayne - as past president of the Chamber and someone who spent a year on City
Council working with Paul, I can tell you he is a man of great integrity.  The
Chamber board questioned him about his hiring's.  It is my belief that he hired
the best people for the job - some happened to be associated with the church.  I
don't know about you but I have a tendency to associate myself with people who
have similar values.  Is that so wrong?  ..."

"Whatever the math, there is still every possibility that the Chamber went
through a thorough process in each hiring and that the best candidate was
chosen.

When I said: "I have a tendency to associate myself with people who have similar
values," Is that so wrong?  I should have continued and explained that I believe
Paul networked with local business people, church members and anyone else he
knows to advertise the jobs.  It was certainly no secret at the Chamber and we
were all encouraged to get the word out.  I don't deny the appearance of
favoritism..."

The sentence comparing Jon Kimberling's practices to Paul Kimmell's practices:
"I have a tendency to associate myself with people who have similar values.  Is
that so wrong?" perhaps explains in part why the chamber has ignored not only
state and federal law but the rights and reasonable expectations of everyone in
the community in their hiring/contracting practices.


Solution

There is a simple solution that any prudent business person would pursue when
faced with the problems described above.

1.               Apologize to the community which provides its funding for past
missteps, and as far as legally and fairly possible, correct them.

2.               Design, write, and scrupulously follow procedures which provide
for advertising, screening, and hiring/contracting such that all of the
qualified candidates in our community have an equal chance of being considered
and hired for any chamber position or contracted service.

3.               Immediately dismiss Paul Kimmell as executive director.  His
open, arrogant violation of state and federal law and his cause of the community
loss of respect for and confidence in the chamber by discriminatory practices –
stealing opportunity and income from all of us – and forcing his religion down
our throats and using our tax money in the process, are grounds, in and of
themselves, for instant dismissal.

If the chamber board refuses with the stubbornness and community insensitivity
they have so far exhibited to do these three simple steps, they will certainly
be surprised at the outrage and action that will pour forth from insulted and
concerned members of the community.

 
/s/ Wayne A. Fox

Wayne A. Fox
1009 Karen Lane
P.O. Box 9421
Moscow, ID  83843

(208) 882-7975

waf at moscow.com <mailto:waf at moscow.com> 
______________________________

>From The Daily News
______________________________

COLUMN: Trying to live peaceable lives in Moscow
Paul J. Kimmell

As a child, I would wander through Philadelphia staring at the Liberty Bell and
through Independence Hall not knowing what that "experiment in liberty" was all
about or that the men who signed the Declaration of Independence had risked
their lives, fortunes, honor, and reputations for a very risky proposition. 

During my years of public service, I've come to realize the great amount of
scrutiny that one in such a position is under. Much has been written of my dual
roles of late, both as a Latah County commissioner and as executive director of
the Moscow Chamber of Commerce. 

Unlike some in the media and in the community, I am accountable to all of you in
one form or another. For the record, I wish to respond to some of these recent
attacks on my character and the organizations I work for. 

First of all, I want to assure those of you involved in the chamber of commerce
our financial situation is not grim but in fact fairly healthy. In the 3 1/2
years I have been with the organization, our bottom line has improved steadily.
While some of our numbers have been taken out of context, it is difficult to
explain them without looking at them as a whole and in one setting, which is
what our Executive/Finance Committee does every month. They have realized areas
that needed to be fine-tuned, and have provided great direction to our outside
bookkeeper, making sure each account is properly categorized. 

During this process, some items have needed to be moved from the Chamber
Foundation to the Chamber - again, per the Executive/Finance Committee. That is
what some of these numbers that have been discussed reflect. This committee is
well aware of the Foundation's and the Chamber's status - none of these
decisions have been made without their direction, contrary to what some have
implied. This same volunteer-based committee and Chamber Board continue to
provide this important oversight while making suggestions as to how we provide
our membership and the community with quality services. This is a group of
small-business owners dedicated to improving and protecting Moscow's quality of
life and business. 

I am also very proud of our chamber staff and the tremendous amount of work they
produce on behalf of Moscow and its businesses. Like many of you, they're
overworked and underpaid, but I appreciate how well they represent this
community when the phone rings or a visitor stops in for travel information. 

As the community's "front door," the chamber is often the first impression
someone has of Moscow. We take this responsibility seriously and we make sure it
is a warm and inviting one. We operate on a fairly small budget and we rely on
the great generosity of our business community to help us provide these
services. 

Can we do better? Absolutely. 

I'm often reminded just how fortunate we are to live in a place where crime is
low, the air is clean and the culture is abundant. 

I am also very aware of the importance in protecting these assets, our farms and
farmlands, our forests and lumber mills, our water and other resources, our
businesses and institutions and, most importantly, our people and our
community's rich heritage. 

Moscow is a great community full of genuine, caring and active citizens. I am
thankful that I live in a country where I have not needed to worry about liberty
or freedom, that the past and present sacrifices of those in the armed forces
protect us. 

As of late, however, there has been a small but loud group of displeased persons
who claim tolerance, yet they are showing how intolerant they are of other
religious and/or moral views. 

It's important for me, and others, to keep in mind the majority of us are trying
to live in an area that we are convinced is one of the best places on Earth to
live and raise our families. 

I am concerned some have grown suspicious of others in our community and harsh
words have been expressed. Accusations have been made about one another and
those who have control of the "public square." 

Moscow is far too good a town for this kind of behavior to continue. Our
founding fathers would have expected more, and so should we. 

* Paul J. Kimmell is executive director of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and a
Latah County commissioner.