Noack resigns from Cape County disabilities board

Bryan Noack has resigned from an all-volunteer county disabilities board, despite his repeated assertion that his paid position at a similar not-for-profit organization in Perry County did not constitute a conflict of interest.

Noack submitted his letter of resignation from the Cape County Board for Developmental Disabilities on Friday to the Cape Girardeau County Commission. Noack, whose term was set to expire June 30, had reapplied but withdrew that application from consideration. The resignation was effective immediately.

"While I assure everyone that I have never and currently do not have a conflict of interest, I would prefer that the focus of the CCBDD be on how the public funds will be spent to improve the services for -- and the lives of -- the developmentally disabled residing in Cape Girardeau County," Noack said in an email to the commission.

To remain on the board, Noack said, it would mean more wasted time arguing about his reappointment and distract from the board's mission of helping the county's disabled residents.

The resignation came as board chairwoman Dory Johnson and Cape Girardeau County Commissioner Jay Purcell questioned the truthfulness of Noack's statements about the circumstances surrounding Noack's hiring of a local board employee to go to work for him in Perryville.

"Evidently, if he thinks he was being honest, we have a different view of honesty," Johnson said.

Offers of more money

According to emails obtained by the Southeast Missourian, a female board employee from the Jackson targeted case management office told Johnson and then-executive director Bob Dale that she had been approached by Noack with offers of more money to come work for him at the Perry County office. The employee quit in April and works at the Perryville office, where Noack is employed as executive director.

"I am not sending this to Bryan because of a conflict," Johnson wrote in a February email to vice chairman Larry Tidd and treasurer Jeff Baer. The employee, Johnson wrote, "came to work for us with Bryan's blessing. He is now trying to buy her back."

Noack said Thursday in an interview with the Southeast Missourian he never tried to recruit the woman back to his Perry County board and that he only hired her after she quit her job here. But Purcell, Johnson and Dale, who was fired Tuesday, said they don't believe that is the truth.

On Friday, Noack's story had changed.

"The emails seem to indicate otherwise, but I don't recall any conversations about giving her more money, and we don't even offer insurance," Noack said following his resignation. "I just don't -- I hate to answer. I can't remember. I just don't recall an offer while she was still working there."

Purcell, who first voiced conflict concerns last week, said he believes that there was a "bidding war" for the employee. Dale also sent an email to Baer on Feb. 27 citing his concerns that Noack was offering the employee more money to come back to work for him.

"Bryan told me directly that his board was quite upset that [she] left," Dale wrote. "They instructed him to do whatever he needed to do, including providing insurance, to get her back."

The emails also show that Noack, who lives in Cape Girardeau, wanted to remove Dale -- who was let go last week -- as early as March. In an email in which Noack criticizes Dale, saying that he wasn't working hard enough at the case management office, Noack wrote, "I know, I'm bitter. I'll get over it sometime in the near future -- I hope."

Minutes from the eight-person board's closed session meeting last week show that the vote to remove Dale was unanimous. The minutes, released to the Southeast Missourian to comply with the state's Sunshine Law, show that the board discussed Dale's work performance but do not say what was said.

Regardless of what happened, Purcell said that he believes there was a clear conflict of interest for Noack to serve on this voluntary board and work in the paid position in Perry County.

"Sometimes democracy is ugly," Purcell said. "Although I disagree with Mr. Noack that there was no conflict of interest, ultimately, I think the interests of the citizens of Cape Girardeau County have been served."

smoyers@semissourian.com

388-3642