MP President and Administrator Resign

**Updated 6:10 p.m.

Village President Carolyn Milkie and Interim Administrator Mark Morien simultaneously resigned from Mount Pleasant on Wednesday.

Milkie's resignation is effect as of the close of business on Wednesday; Morien will be leaving Oct. 5.

Milkie said it wasn’t any one thing that pushed her to step down. Instead, she said everything just came together to a point where she knew it was time to resign.

“It was really like the perfect storm,” she said. “But in a nutshell, the board’s inability to accept change and to recognize what this community could be and implement those changes have really just gotten to be too much.”

Milkie has served on the village board since 2003, first as a trustee and then as Village President since 2005. 

In her letter to trustees and staff, Milkie said village leaders need to “think outside the box,” but that “the majority of the current board (has not) embraced those concepts nor are they willing to explore those opportunities.”

More, Milkie outlined in her letter three primary ways she feels trustees have failed village residents:

• Not having the foresight to position Mount Pleasant to grow and succeed and allowing a few vocal residents to hijack certain issues that run contrary to long-term success;
• Too many trustees have their own agendas and “no longer think and act globally and in the best interest of the majority of the village;” and
• Basing operating budget increases on a “dinner and movie” concept that does not appropriately plan for the operational needs of a growing village.

Milkie concludes her letter thanking the staff who “give 100% to make the community a better place.”

Interim administrator also stepping down

Morien said he feels like he is wasting the village’s money because he doesn’t have the skill set needed to bring about real and lasting change in Mount Pleasant.

“I was brought on board to make changes necessary to correct deficiencies to move this village forward,” he said. “The goal was to be a well-managed and well-governed community. We were working on the management, but we never got to the governed part.”

Morien was hired in August as the interim administrator. An employee of Voorhees Associates, he was originally contracted to find a permanent administrator. When he took the interim job, he said he was going to look at the way the village operated and then start making changes.

In his letter to the Village Board and to staff, Morien points out that he did look at several different areas of Mount Pleasant’s operation and he was making small changes so as not to overwhelm the board or staff members.

“These were designed to gauge the Village Board’s and staff’s appetite for accepting changes,” he wrote. “(But) based on my observations, I believe I do not have the correct skill set to create long-term effective changes in the organization.”

Morien said he chose Oct. 5 as his final day because that gives him time to tie up some projects he’s working on. He recommends immediately transferring interim administrator duties back to Planning Director Ron Meyer who took the reins in May 2011 after trustees ousted former Administrator Mike Andreasen.

Morien said his biggest regret is not being able to implement changes that would have “unleashed the talent” of village staff.

“They are true professionals who give 110 percent, and I wish them well,” he said. “This is a great organization and I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute that I’ve been here. My frustration is that I can’t create an environment where staff can really utilize their talents.”

As for what's next for each of them, Milkie said she plans to stay involved with the village as a volunteer for special events like the upcoming Skeleton Skamper and the Holiday Food Drive.

“We have some pretty big events coming to the village, and I plan to stay involved in those, “ she said. “Plus, I’m open to other opportunities if they come along.”

Morien said he’s going back to work at Voorhees, which works out well with the timing because he passed on some projects to take the job in Mount Pleasant.

“Now, I’ll be able to get back to consulting with some of the new projects coming in there,” he said.

Morien also said in his letter that he recommends trustees rescind the contract with Voorhees Associates because his resignation probably means “the Board will not have confidence in Voorhees to conduct the recruitment to your satisfaction."

Appointing a new president

Chapter 17 of state statute - and Chapter 2 of local ordinances - spells out the procedure for filling the president’s seat. Because Sonny Havn is the senior most board member, he will run the special board meeting he called at 7 p.m. Thursday to address the resignations.

Part of that meeting will be in closed session to discuss the administrator's position, but trustees will discuss and put forth a choice from amongst board members to fill the president's seat in open session. That person will serve the remainder of Milkie's term. She was up for re-election in April.

Trustees can then choose to either appoint a new trustee or leave the position vacant until the April general election.