Scott City fires administrator after 6 months; O'Dell was fourth in top spot since 2017

Editor's Note: This story has been updated.

The Scott City Council fired city administrator Mark O’Dell on Monday, less than a year after hiring him.

Ward 2 Councilwoman Heather Ingvalson said Tuesday the council decided O’Dell “wasn’t the right fit.”

She added, “There was no wrongdoing.”

She said she made the motion to terminate O’Dell, effective immediately. It was approved unanimously by the six council members in attendance, Ingvalson said. Two council members were absent.

Ingvalson said the council has not decided whether to seek to hire a new city administrator or rely on existing staff at city hall.

She said city operations are running smoothly now.

“They (city hall staff) have the city running like clockwork,” she said.

O’Dell was the fourth person to serve as city administrator since 2017.

When reached by email Wednesday, O'Dell replied that he had "no comment" on his termination.

The Southeast Missourian also sought comment from Mayor Norman Brant. He did not return voice messages left on his phone Tuesday.

City officials announced the hiring of O’Dell on Sept. 28, 2018, in an emailed news release. Council members voted unanimously for the hire.

O’Dell worked in the office of the city manager for Kansas City, Missouri, for more than 20 years.

Scott City officials said in the news release O’Dell had experience dealing with everything from city utilities to budget management.

Scott City officials in the release called O’Dell “a great asset” for the Scott County community.

They said he wanted his family “to enjoy a life of growing up in a smaller, family-oriented community just as he did.”

The previous city administrator, Doug Richards, resigned in June after less than eight months on the job.

A former director of the Southeast Missouri State University Department of Public Safety, Richards was hired in November 2017 after former West Park Mall operations manager Mike Crowden first accepted and then turned down the job.

Richards replaced Diann Ulmer, former superintendent of Scott city schools, who was hired in July 2017. She resigned in August of that year, but was rehired the next month to assist the council in its search for a new administrator.

Ulmer’s brief tenure followed the resignation of then city administrator Ron Eskew in March 2017 amid an investigation into allegations of improper use of city funds.

Eskew, who served as administrator for 16 years, filed suit against the city and former Mayor Ron Cummins, accusing them of forcing him to resign.

Earlier this year, Eskew received a $40,000 settlement in exchange for dropping his lawsuit. The payment came from the Missouri Public Entity Risk Management Fund, a state-created entity that provides insurance coverage for Missouri’s local governments.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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