Memo Re Status of Deputy Clerk Claims - Redacted

The Law Offices of Patrick J Kennedy, PA
P.O. Box 298

Welaka, Florida 32193
Office: (386)524-4401
patrick@pjklawfirm.com
MEMORANDUM
To: Town Council
From: Patrick Kennedy, Town Attorney
Date: December 6, 2022
RE: v Town of Welaka
THIS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED A PRIVILEGED COMMUNICATION AND MUST NOT

BE SHARED WITH THE PUBLIC AT THIS TIME. PLEASE DIRECT ANY INQUIRIES OR
REQUEST FOR RECORDS REGARDING THIS MATTER DIRECTLY TO ME FOR
HANDLING.
The purpose of this memorandum is to summarize the current state of the complaint of
submitted to the Town of Welaka on June 15, 2022 and provide some guidance as to
where the matter might go from this point forward.
Brief Background Summary
first expressed an interest in working for the Town of Welaka during the search for
a Town Clerk. She was not selected for the position. However, the Town did want to fill a
Deputy Town Clerk position and Mayor Watts determined to hire her as the Deputy Town Clerk
and she started working in that position on December 6, 2021.
It did not take long to realize that she was a bit overwhelmed by the position and had difficulty
taking direction from the newly appointed Town Clerk, Meghan Allmon. also had
attendance issues – missing work, coming in late, leaving work in the middle of the day, etc;
much of which was done without prior authorization. Meghan Allmon recommended to Mayor
Watts that be terminated during her probationary period. Her official date of
termination was February 11, 2022. For reasons that were not clear to Meghan at the time, the
Mayor deferred to Meghan’s good judgement and asked that she handle the final decision and
deliver the notice of termination to .
It was June 15, 2022, that lawyers representing sent a demand letter to the Town
Clerk and the President of the Town Council, Jessica Finch, alleging sexual harassment,
discrimination and retaliation based on her sex related to her employment and termination from
employment with the Town. The impetus for her claims as stated in the demand letter was an
exchange text messages between Mayor Watts and . I will not use this memorandum
to recount the specifics of the alleged text messages but suffice it to say they were of a sexually
explicit nature.
arrival of new facts, Ms. Erdelyi is not inclined to offer them anything unless we want to offer
something to get closure – in which case, she would not offer more than $2,500.
The Mayor’s Conduct
I was not privy to Ms. Erdelyi ’s interview of the Mayor, nor I have I received copies of the text
exchanges. I can share that Ms. Erdelyi has confirmed that there were some very inappropriate
text exchanges consistent with the exchanges reflected in demand letter and her
EEOC charge. However, what did not include in either of these documents was her
own text messages, which, per Ms. Erdelyi, demonstrate that she was a willing and reciprocating
participant in the communications.
Conclusion
Based on what I know about this matter, the Mayor’s conduct was extremely unprofessional and
inappropriate, and in my legal opinion, exposed the Town to potential liability that we appear to
have avoided. However, I do not believe the assessment ends there. I believe it is important to
understand that regardless of legal liability for harassment or related discrimination claims, if not
for extremely poor performance, Meghan Allmon’s judicious documentation of
her performance, and Meghan’s willingness to handle termination, the Mayor’s
behavior could have compromised the his ability to effectively manage the Town’s
administrative functions – leading to other potential legal ramifcations. As it was, Mayor Watts
put himself in a position where he had to essentially recuse himself from involvement in
termination – a process and a decision he would otherwise handle directly.
In the end, we avoided these legal concerns and it appears to me that the Mayor’s interaction
with was personal, outside of the workplace, and short lived enough so that it stayed
outside the workplace. I am leaning towards a determination that text messages are not a matter
of public record but will do a little more research on this before reaching a final determination.
THIS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED A PRIVILEGED COMMUNICATION AND MUST NOT

BE SHARED WITH THE PUBLIC AT THIS TIME. PLEASE DIRECT ANY INQUIRIES OR
REQUEST FOR RECORDS REGARDING THIS MATTER TO ME FOR HANDLING.

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The Law Offices of Patrick J Kennedy, PA

P.O. Box 298

To: Town Council

From: Patrick Kennedy, Town Attorney

Date: December 6, 2022

RE: v Town of Welaka

THIS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED A PRIVILEGED COMMUNICATION AND MUST NOT

Brief Background Summary

The Mayor’s Conduct

THIS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED A PRIVILEGED COMMUNICATION AND MUST NOT

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