Adkins said he had already reached out to Heather Gibson, owner of the Triple Moon Coffee Company, and her morning manager, Renae Theiss, to apologize to both women, and he said they accepted his apology.
MORE: Middletown city manager’s actions focus of special council meeting
Adkins said he talks about the importance of “The Middletown Way” during his quarterly employee meetings, and in this case he failed to live up to that standard, he said.
“I apologize to my staff and I apologize for my behavior,” Adkins said. “I am sorry that this has become a campaign issue.”
Adkins also apologized to Middletown City Council and to the public.
“There is no excuse for me losing my temper,” he said.
Council voted unanimously on a motion to approve the one-day suspension for Adkins.
Prior to the suspension vote, Vice Mayor Tal Moon said he was “embarrassed” on how this affected the downtown coffee shop and took time to make an apology to Gibson and Theiss. Moon said there was no excuse for this type of outburst. He also said he was committed to solving the homeless problem.
Mayor Larry Mulligan Jr. said he found Adkins’ conduct at Triple Moon to be “unprofessional” and that based on the city’s progressive disciplinary procedure, the one-day suspension and public apology “was the best course of action.” Mulligan added that Adkins’ body of work for the past five years as city manager was taken into account when council was determined his discipline in the Oct. 7 special meeting held in executive session.
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