Menard ‘truly sorry’ for actions

WASILLA — Wasilla City Councilman Steve Menard has publicly apologized for damaging a Sitka hotel room while on city business earlier this month.

The apology came during a statement Menard made during Monday’s regular city council meeting before the council adjourned to an executive session. That was to discuss his behavior at the Alaska Municipal League summer meetings, which left the city picking up a $350 cleaning tab for Menard’s hotel room at the Westmark Sitka.

“I would like to start off by apologizing publicly for my actions in Sitka,” Menard said. “To the city of Wasilla, my friends and family, I am truly embarrassed and sorry, truly sorry.”

Menard was part of the city’s delegation, which included the mayor, staff and other council members. When he tried to check out Aug. 12, hotel staff found Menard’s room had extensive damage. A bill sent to the city from the hotel itemized the damage as including two mattresses and a chair had been urinated on, vomit on the carpet, removal of a screen from a window and a burned mattress.

To avoid involving the police, the city paid the cleaning charge, which Menard reimbursed on Aug. 16. In the wake of the incident, Deputy Mayor Doug Holler called for an executive session to discuss the matter at Monday’s council meeting.

Before the executive session, however, Menard acknowledged struggles with alcohol and said he’s been sober since the Sitka trip and is seeking help.

“I sit here before you a humbled man, 11 days sober and working on a program,” he said. “And only through the grace of God, I will redeem myself. I thank you.”

Before Monday’s meeting, Menard distributed a memorandum to the council and mayor offering to accept no money for travel related to city business or his compensation as a city councilman for the remainder of his term. In the end, the council decided instead on a different action.

After meeting with his colleagues on the council for 50 minutes Monday, Menard wasn’t asked to resign. He agreed, however, to pay back all expenses for his trip to Sitka, which includes airfare, hotel room and per diem in the amount of $1,404.90. He also agreed to not travel on city business for the remainder of his term, which expires in October 2013.

Menard declined to comment beyond his statement, but he did hear from a pair of concerned Wasilla residents during the public participation part of the meeting.

John Dewar said he was “dismayed, disheartened, disenchanted at the events of the last week.”

He said Menard’s behavior was “a reflection on the city and these hardworking people over here. I am a citizen of Wasilla. I’m embarrassed. … A couple words I had with Mr. Menard coming in the door verify that as a council member, he’s not fit for public office.”

While Dewar expressed anger, Anne Kilkenny made a plea for understanding.

“I spent a lot of time in uncomfortable chairs, and I’ve seen a lot of things at city council meetings,” she said. “Publicity surrounding the behavior of a council member has often been disgusting and disappointing, but I ask you, who among you is without sin? Let him be the first to cast the stone.”

Kilkenny also offered advice for the council to help reduce the potential for city representatives from finding themselves in similar situations.

“If your goal is to preserve and protect the reputation of Wasilla, then I suggest you look at enacting an ordinance that forbids the consumption of any quantity of alcohol while on city business,” she said.

She also had an encouraging word for Menard for attending Monday’s meeting, facing the public and the rest of the council. “Mr. Menard, I applaud your courage for being here.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.