During a nearly hour and a half long closed session meeting of the Granby City Council Tuesday, council members voted 3-1 to reprimand wastewater superintendent Charles Sweet.
“Alderman have voted 3-1 to [also] put him on a strict probation for six months,” Granby Mayor Donna Fullerton said after returning into open session.
The council went into closed session at 7:42 p.m. and returned at 9:07 p.m.
Sweet was arrested on Sunday, May 22, for driving under influence while on his way to the wastewater treatment plant.
“It was one of those situations that when the electricity goes out at my house, the electricity is out at the plant and at the main lift station,” Sweet said. “We are on the same leg of electric line. So when the electricity goes out at my house, ‘bam!’, I come to work, every time. So it was just instinct for me to come into work. That is what I have always done ever since I have been here. I always put the plant and the city ahead of everything else.”
Sweet has been the city’s wastewater supervisor for four and a half years.
“I have done the utmost to keep it in compliance and so far, I have done relatively decent job of that,” he added. “In order to maintain the integrity of the plant and system, there are adjustments that need to be made to be made and I am the only one that can make those adjustments. And the only one that can make those calls. So in this situation, I had really not much choice. I had to be there. It was unfortunate the way that things worked out, it could have possibly been done in a different manner, but it is what it is.”
Asked what it was meant for a six-month probation, Sweet stated to “walk a straight line.”
“No more ‘get in troubles,’ ” he said. “Stay out of trouble, don’t do anything wrong.”
Sweet said he was surprised at the council’s decision, remarking he “came in fully prepared to be done [terminated].”
“I am pleased. I have worked with Charles before, he is one of the best employees that I have ever had working for me,” Fullerton said. “I am very pleased that the council was able to work it out.”
The mayor noted that she and Sweet will have a discussion soon.
“I can almost guarantee you this will never happen again,” she said. “It was just an unfortunate circumstance. It was his (Sweet’s) day off. Who knew that we were going to have a tornado?”
