Second member resigns from Cape County's SB40 Board

The second resignation within a week from the Cape Girardeau County SB40 Board came as a surprise and could disrupt the board's effort to rewrite its contract with VIP Industries, board vice chairwoman Dory Johnson said Thursday.

Judy Aufdenberg, an 11-year-member of the board whose term was set to end June 30, 2011, cited health reasons and board controversies in a resignation letter sent Wednesday to the Cape Girardeau County Commission. The letter came the day after she attended a two-hour board meeting that included discussions of the VIP Industries contract and the dispute with the county commission over the appointment of Ruth Ann Dickerson to fill another board vacancy.

"It shocked me," Johnson said of the resignation. "The only thing I know is what has been said, that maybe two weeks ago she told another board member that she didn't like all the fighting that is going on."

With two seats open and board chairman Robert Landgraf unable to attend meetings because of illness, maintaining a five-member quorum of the nine-person board may be difficult, Johnson said. The board is scheduled to meet Tuesday evening to work on the contract.

"We are trying to change a contract that has been in place for 35 years," she said.

In her letter, Aufdenberg wrote that a few months ago she underwent a heart procedure. She said she has reduced stress by stepping back from other commitments as well.

"The current controversy between the SB40 board and the county commissioners has led to this being a very stressful position," she wrote.

In an interview Thursday morning, Aufdenberg said her resignation wasn't a statement about which side is correct.

"It is very complicated, and I can't say I have an opinion on who is right and who is wrong," she said. "I just needed to bow out."

Aufdenberg's husband, Richard, is a member of the VIP Industries board of directors.

The board collects about $800,000 annually in property taxes to support sheltered workshops and related services for people with developmental disabilities. The board has been seeking to assert itself by questioning the spending practices of VIP Industries, the not-for-profit company that operates sheltered workshops in Cape Girardeau and Bollinger counties.

Aufdenberg's resignation came six days after board member Donald E. Hanscom resigned, citing issues aired at a recent county commission meeting in his resignation letter. In an interview with the Southeast Missourian, Hanscom cited health reasons for resigning from the post he held since 1987.

A third board member, Ruth Ansberry, resigned May 10. The county commission rejected a candidate nominated by the board and instead chose Dickerson, a captain with the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department.

The board has until June 30 to renegotiate its contract with VIP Industries or it will automatically renew.

Hillary Schmittzehe, chief executive officer of VIP Industries, said the attempt to rewrite the contract must be an agreement between his board and the SB40 Board, not a dictated deal. "We don't know whether we would accept a revised" contract, he said.

If his board rejects a contract offer, "then we won't provide the service," he said.

Along with the two open seats, Johnson and Arlysse Popp are serving terms that expire June 30. The county commission has set Monday as the deadline for applying for the seats and Thursday as the day to make appointments.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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