Chester Trustees Place Fire Chief on Paid Administrative Leave

September 21, 2021 by John Karlovec

Chester Township Trustees have placed longtime Fire Chief John Wargelin on paid temporary administrative leave, an action they claim is not punitive.

At the same time, trustees have retained the services of Clemans Nelson & Associates, a human resource management and consulting firm that offers expertise in human resource management, and which provides an independent, objective perspective to local governments, according to a Sept. 14 township press release.

They also hired William J. Shaw, who retired in 2020 after completing 36 years in the fire service, as interim acting fire chief. Shaw previously served as chief of the Willoughby Hills and Solon fire departments. He is being paid $55 per hour.

“Clements (sic) Nelson was asked to perform an independent review and analysis of the township’s fire department,” the release said. “Based upon the firm’s preliminary review and findings, the trustees appointed an employee of the firm as an independent investigator to determine whether or not any member of the township fire department has violated any statutory provisions of the Ohio Revised Code that governs the fire department.”

Trustees said the appointment was made in accordance with their fiduciary obligation to residents and was made after consultation with legal counsel.

“In order to assure a complete and thorough investigation without any influence from the current fire department administration, the fire chief was placed on temporary administrative leave with pay,” trustees said. “He (Wargelin) remains available to address any of the needs, issues or concerns of the board of trustees or the investigator.”

Trustees also said their action was “not punitive in nature and is not considered to be any form of disciplinary action by the board.”

“The board will not take any further action, at this time, with respect to the fire department until it receives the final report and recommendations, if any, by the appointed investigator,” they said. “The board has taken this approach to assure that all factual matters are being addressed independently and objectively; and, in the interim, the residents can be assured that they continue to receive the level of services which they have received in the past.”

Wargelin, a Chester resident, has named fire chief in 2006. He also serves as treasurer of the Geauga County Fire Chiefs Association.

Wargelin declined comment on trustees’ action and referred all requests for comment to his attorneys, Todd Hicks and Bridey Matheney at Thrasher, Dinsmore and Dolan. Hicks did not immediately reply to an email requesting comment.

Benjamin Bindokas, president of the Chester Township Firefighters Association, took to social media to praise the department’s reputation of high quality, trustworthy and efficient fire, emergency medical and rescue services.

“Rest assured that, in spite of the recent turmoil, the dedicated employees of this department remain committed to ensuring that there will be seamless emergency services available 24/7 during these trying times,” he wrote on the Chesterland, Ohio Facebook page. “The part- and full-time members of this department stand in unity to push forward and be part of the solution in moving forward and helping ensure that the residents of Chester Township continue to have a fire department they can count on and be proud of.”

He then asked residents to “try and avoid the rumors and speculation as they only add fuel to the fire of an already difficult time.”

Township residents rallied in support of Wargelin in response to Bindokas’ post.

“John Wargelin deserves our respect and loyalty. A finer chief doesn’t exist and Chesterland Fire is John Wargelin,” wrote Bill Spaner, a longtime firefighter who worked for Chester and Russell township fire departments. “I honestly believe the trustees and the residents of Chesterland not only owe this selfless man their gratitude and their loyalty, but his job is earned and deserved. Shame on the trustees who attack such an important asset of our community.”

“Thank you! Add Karen Moleterno!” Patricia Jarrett, township fiscal officer, said in reply to Spaner’s comment.

Moleterno has been part-time assistant fire chief for more than a decade. Last year, she was named the first-ever female captain of the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport Fire Team.

Since 2014, Moleterno also has been emergency management systems coordinator at University Hospitals.

Trustees also placed her on paid administrative leave in July, but reinstated her effective Aug. 31.

Spaner then questioned the meaning behind Bindokas’ post and said if Russell trustees would have suspended their chief, the firefighters would have been upset.

“I honestly believe the best way to support Chester Fire is to support their amazing chief, John Wargelin,” Spaner told Bindokas.

“No, I don’t feel the same way. Sometimes the silence of the rank and file speaks volumes. Sometimes the rank and file speak with their feet as evidenced by the 50% turnover rate in the part time ranks the last two years and an 84% turnover rate in the full time ranks in a year,” Bindokas said, adding fuel to the fire of rumor and speculation he asked residents to avoid.  “Before someone comes along and says that the part-time guys left because they got full-time jobs elsewhere, that is actually false. The majority of them already had full-time jobs and left Chester to go work part time elsewhere.”

In response to another comment, Bindokas replied, “Do the trustees not have a duty to look into why a township department is hemorrhaging staff? Do they not have a duty to investigate why the department is staffed at dangerously low levels? The current fire department administration was hired long before this board of trustees. Do they not have a responsibility to ensure that the township departments are being run properly?”

He added, “You mentioned the expense of an investigation. I don’t take the spending of tax dollars casually. With that being said, you know what else costs a lot of money? Turnover.”

Bindokas continued his attack on Wargelin and his administration in another comment.

“You can speak in generalizations and inuendo about times long past all you want, I will stick to actual facts,” he told another longtime female member of the fire department, Lori Holliday Sanders. “The facts are that the management are not doing their job and the trustees decided to look into that. I’m sorry that you can’t put your personal friendships and feelings aside and look at this objectively.”

He also claimed the problems within the fire department have nothing to do with pay or groups with agendas.

“Hopefully the community sees this for what it is and votes out the trustees in November,” said Sanders.

“He (Bindokas) has an obvious agenda and it isn’t for the health and safety of the Chester community,” Spaner said in another comment. “First, he had little business making an unofficial, official post that didn’t say anything of importance. Second, when asked to be more direct, his true feelings revealed an individual with an agenda.”

He added, “I’ve known the chief and assistant chief for over 20 years. They are people of stature. Our fire service needs them. Benjamin speaks for himself and not our community. It’s clear he has an agenda and it appears to be very self-centered.”

The Geauga County Maple Leaf has asked trustees to comment on Bindokas’ social media posts and insinuations. They have not responded to date.

The Maple Leaf also has made several public records requests for documents, including all correspondence between the township and Clemans Nelson regarding the current contract as well as the contract itself, performance evaluations of Wargelin and all correspondence between the township and Bindokas regarding department management as being a reason why firefighters have left the department.

The township is in the process of responding to those requests.