Former employees, public question township leadership

by Melissa Martin

Sept. 13 township trustees meeting

The Hinckley Township Board of Trustees is facing harsh public criticism following the resignations of several fire department employees and what several township residents are calling “unprofessional behavior” on behalf of the township’s newly hired zoning inspector.

Former Trustee Melissa Augustine was among those who addressed the board Sept. 13, reading into the record the resignation letters of both former fire department Lt. Andrew Baxter and the fire department’s former Administrative Assistant Jen Amburn. Both Baxter and Amburn criticized trustees’ leadership and the actions that led former Fire Chief Jestin Grossenbaugh to resign as chief, effective Sept. 2, after 27 years of service to the township.

“The recent actions towards Chief Grossenbaugh, which have led to his resignation, and the unprofessional verbal interaction of Trustee Jack Swedyk with leadership of the department has deeply affected my confidence in township leadership,” Baxter’s letter states.

Among the list of criticisms Baxter cites are allegations that Swedyk has been speaking to other townships about providing EMS coverage, “effectively looking to disband Hinckley Fire.” Baxter also alleges that Swedyk undermined Grossenbaugh’s pursuit of hiring full-time firefighters and meddled in department operations, questioning firefighting ground operations while Trustee Monique Ascherl is the appointed trustee liaison to the fire department.

Amburn’s resignation letter voiced similar sentiments, alleging that Grossenbaugh was “pushed” out the door because “he isn’t the yes man that [trustees] want.”

“You have repeatedly tried – and sometimes successfully – to cut the fire chief out of the process [of hiring full-time firefighters] and drag out the process, which caused us to lose some really good candidates for the position,” Amburn stated. “To question the authority, integrity and knowledge of the fire chief has been beyond my comprehension. I can count on one hand the number of times any of you have stopped by the station in the last year. How can you accurately know what the needs of the department are if you don’t check in?”

Grossenbaugh notified the board of his resignation during the Aug. 20 board of trustees meeting, at which time he announced his last day with the department would be Sept. 2, and that he was “[pursuing] new endeavors.” He asked trustees for permission to leave the meeting immediately following the announcement and trustees complied. He has not commented publically as to other reasons for his resignation.

Neither Swedyk nor Ascherl addressed the allegations during the meeting, and Trustee Cyntia Engleman was not in attendance.

As for the township’s Zoning Inspector Nicole Blunk, a video surfaced on social media in early September showing her removing two temporary signs from the Binky Commons building at the intersection of state Routes 303 and 94. She can also be heard scolding workers, who were on scene filling cracks in the parking lot, stating that she was enforcing township codes and the signs were being “confiscated by the government.”

The signs, which advertised the contractor performing the work, had been placed on and around the building. According to the township’s zoning code, one temporary sign – either a ground sign or a banner attached to the building – is permitted with a permit. The code also says “signs, other than those exempt, located in the public right-of-way or attached to a utility pole, tree, trash receptacel, bench or other structure not approved as a sign support” are prohibited.

Trustees conducted executive sessions on Sept. 13 and Sept. 16 to discuss disciplinary action in accordance with Blunk’s conduct. She received a written reprimand.

Tom Vanover, a managing partner of Binky Commons, alleges Blunk damaged the railing while removing one of the signs. He told the board he is seeking restitution from the township.

Vanover also alleged that his building is being targeted as part of an ongoing feud between Ascherl and Augustine, who is the fiancé of another of managing partner.

“Multiple violations of township rules are being placed upon us arbitrarily only because of this catfight,” he told the board. “There is a pattern of weaponization because of my business partner and his fiancé. There is no place for it here in Hinckley.”

Ken Vanek, a 12-year township resident, told the board he’s “never seen such a display of unprofessionalism” by a public official in his life. Several residents on social media have expressed similar sentiments. ∞