Mathis denies ethics complaint alleging conflicts of interest on Woodlawn vote

  
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Friday, March 30, 2018 — Bardstown businessman Mark Mathis denied allegations that he had a conflict of interest when he participated as a member of the planning commission and cast his vote in favor of the zoning amendment requested by Woodlawn Springs Golf Course LLC.

Mathis appeared Tuesday before the Joint Ethics Commission to refute allegations lodged against him by Woodlawn Springs resident Pete Trzop that Mathis violated local ethics regulations when he participated in the hearing and subsequent approval of a zoning amendment that would allow the golf course owners to develop the course into residential housing.

The meeting was an initial inquiry that the local ethics ordinance requires the ethics board to conduct within 30 days of the filing of a complaint to determine if the complaint is valid and should be further examined formally.

Board chair Christina Bradford explained that the board was short one member, and therefore the board would make no ruling on the complaint until it could meeting with its full membership in attendance.

The board had a quorum, but never made decisions without all of its members present in the past, Bradford explained.

Trzop’s complaint alleges that in his role as planning commission member and secretary, he argued in favor of the zoning amendment sought by the owners of the Woodlawn Springs golf course property.

Mathis denied that he argued in favor of the zoning request. He explained that during the normal course of zoning hearing, at its end, the members of the planning commission are asked to offer their thoughts on the merits of the application under consideration.

Mathis said that when he was asked, he gave his opinion on the zoning request at the commission’s Dec. 12, 2017, public hearing. The commission did not approve the zoning change that night, but tabled it for approval at its meeting in January.

The complaint cites Mathis’ ownership of asphalt and trucking businesses as the basis for conflicts of interest, including ownership of Mago Construction Co. and Bardstown Asphalt Co. as well as serving as a board member of the Wilson and Muir Bank.

Mathis said he owned part of Mago and all of Bardstown Asphalt Co. Bardstown Asphalt is only a trucking company and does no paving, he said. He said he did not understand how serving as a bank board member would be a conflict of interest.

He denied Trzop’s complaint that Mathis failed to list a company called TAPCO on his financial disclosure forms. Mathis said at one point in the past, he had mistakenly listed TAPCO as one of his companies.

“I personally don’t own TAPCO or stock in TAPCO,” he said. “I do own Bardstown Asphalt Co., and TAPCO is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bardstown Asphalt Co., so it was redundant to list both of them.”

Apparently Trzop based his complaints on the Secretary of State’s business records, which show a corporation’s officers, but not necessarily ownership, Mathis explained. Mago and Bardstown Asphalt Co. are totally separate companies.

Trzop’s complaint notes that Bardstown businessman Jodie Haydon is the father of one of the owners of the golf course, Alison Haydon Osbourne. The complaint alleges possible conflict of interest due to possible “business dealings” between companies owned by Jodie Haydon and Mathis.

The ethics ordinance doesn’t address business dealings, Mathis told the board, and denied any conflicts of interest between he and Haydon.

The complaint alleges that Mathis’ companies work for local governments and contractors means a possible conflict of interest with any number of zoning changes.

Road projects are competitively bid, which exempts those projects from consideration as conflicts, he explained.

But Mathis explained to the board that during his 20 years as a member, he goes to great lengths to avoid the appearance a conflict of interest.

If Mago has a paving contract for property subject to a zoning vote, Mathis recuses himself from participating in that zoning request.

“Prior to every meeting (of the commission) I check with our engineers to see if they have anything going on,” he said. “If I have a conflict because Mago has a paving contract, I will recuse. If we are estimating on something that has a zoning change, I will recuse.”

In the instance of Woodlawn Springs Golf Course, he was asked if he had a conflict.

“I disclosed to the commission attorney the relationship I had with Jodie Haydon,” he said.

Mathis made two campaign donations to Jodie Haydon — the first when Haydon was state representative approximately 20 years ago, and the second political donation 9 years ago when Haydon ran for state senate. Trzop’s complaint said the donations were possible conflicts of interest, which Mathis denied.

Mathis said he told the commission’s attorney he had no business dealings with Haydon, and that he planned to participate in the commission’s dealings with the zoning request.

“I have been on the planning commission since 1990. I have never had anyone say that I violated our local ethics ordinance. Its very convenient for Mr. Trzop — because he lives in that neighborhood — to make these allegations to try to get my vote kicked out,” he said.

“Since 1990 I have always recused myself when it was appropriate.”

NEXT STEP. SInce the board’s Fairfield representative was unable to attend the ethics board meeting, the board agreed it would delay making a determination on Trzop’s complaint and if it had factual basis to constitute a violation of the county’s ethics ordinance.

If the board determines the complaint is without basis, the board can terminate the inquiry and let the parties know its conclusion.

That determination will come at the board’s next meeting which has yet to be announced.

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