Unknown: Details Regarding Building Commissioner's Firing

Diane Bolderson, Wentzville's building commissioner, was fired last week by the Wentzville Board of Aldermen and details surrounding her ouster remain unclear. 

Bolderson says her job was terminated because of her objection to a contract for Splash Station, an aquatic park that's part of Wentzville's massive Project Parks development. 

At least one board member, though, says otherwise.

"Her firing has nothing to do with Parks," said Alderman Sonya Shryock when Patch spoke with her Wednesday afternoon.

Construction of  Splash Station has been plagued by overruns caused by massive amounts of rock that were found during excavations.

Bolderson's objections came on the heels of an out-of-the-ordinary decision made by newly hired City Administrator Mike McDowell and the board of aldermen.

In April, aldermen fired the project's design and construction oversight firm, Planning Design Studios. Then, at the same meeting, McDowell suggested the city hire Gartenberg Construction Consulting to oversee the project, disclosing at the time that he had worked with the firm when he was city manager for Olivette.

When the board discussed the proposal, Shryock said the board asked McDowell to look at the project and how it could be made better even though the normal process was to put contracts out for bid.

"In an emergency case," Shryock said, "Do we go ahead and do this to bring it in faster, more efficiently? That’s the tough question we’re having to ask ourselves right here."