By DARRIN STINEMAN

Salina Journal

The Salina Housing Authority board of directors voted 4-0 to terminate housing authority Executive Director Ann Johnson on Thursday, a week after two of the board members questioned why they weren't notified sooner about a family relationship between Johnson and the co-owner of a firm involved with a housing authority building project.

Johnson, 55, who was known as Ann Rollins until she married Wayne Johnson about four weeks ago, typically attends meetings of the housing authority board but did not attend Thursday. She didn't return a call after a message was left Thursday night on her home answering machine.

The board met in closed session for two hours Monday to discuss personnel issues, which is permissible under the Kansas Open Meetings Act. The board's five members -- Carl Kiltz, Bruce Benyshek, Katie Hill, Eric Householter and Carmen Wilson -- met in closed session for an hour and 40 minutes at the beginning of Thursday's meeting, as well.

After reconvening in an open meeting, Householter made a motion that Johnson be fired.

"I want to make a motion that we move, that we direct (Kiltz) as board chair that he notify Ann Johnson in writing of her termination, effective (today)," Householter said.

Hill seconded the motion, and she voted in favor of it along with Kiltz, Benyshek and Householter.

Those four were new to the board since the Journal published stories in March 2007 regarding spending and management practices during Johnson's tenure. The new members were appointed by Mayor Alan Jilka, who was quoted in one of the March stories questioning whether the board at that time was giving Johnson the proper oversight, and he accused her of trying to remove two board members who questioned her.

The lone holdover was Wilson, who left Thursday's meeting after the closed session and didn't vote on the termination or participate in the rest of the meeting. She didn't return a call seeking comment Thursday night.

Board members had little to say after the meeting, citing legal reasons that precluded them from doing so.

"I just can't comment on personnel matters," Benyshek said. "I'm just not going to answer any questions having to do with that situation."

Asked for comment after the meeting, Householter said, "There's not much I can say at this point."

Assistant to take over for now

The board also voted 4-0 to name Assistant Executive Director Lynn Vossman as interim executive director.

"I think Lynn will do an excellent job, in the meantime," Householter said, "and will be a candidate when it comes time for hiring a permanent position."

The board voted to give Vossman a 10 percent raise for taking on additional duties.

Information on her current salary wasn't available Thursday night. After the meeting, Vossman denied a request for information about her salary and instead required an open records request be submitted. Under the Kansas Open Records Act, public agencies have up to three days to respond to a records request.

Householter said the board would like to have a replacement hired within six months. Johnson had been in her job since December 2000.

Board members upset

Thursday's action came on the heels of an incident that occurred last week regarding Johnson's relationship with Brett Johnson, a partner in Overland Property Group, Topeka, which was the only developer to bid on a housing authority project to build an apartment complex with around eight units.

Overland Property Group was going to be paid about $250,000 for the project. It's since withdrawn from the project.

Brett Johnson is the son of Ann Johnson's new husband, Wayne Johnson of Salina. They were married Dec. 22, two days after the board voted to go forward on the $1.4 million apartment project.

On Wednesday last week, Ann Johnson sent an e-mail to board members notifying them of her relationship with Brett Johnson. That upset Benyshek, who said he felt "misled" that he and the rest of the board hadn't been notified before the Dec. 20 vote on the housing project.

Wouldn't have voted yes

Benyshek and Householter both told the Journal last week that they wouldn't have voted for the project had they known about the relationship. Hill and Wilson, the other two members who were present for the vote, didn't return calls seeking comment.

Kiltz, the board chair, said he had been made aware of the relationship sometime before Dec. 20, but he wasn't present at that meeting. Kiltz said he was under the impression that Ann Johnson or a member of the housing authority board's legal staff would notify the rest of the board of the family relationship before the vote.

Ann Johnson declined to comment last week about the situation with Brett Johnson and whether she was supposed to notify the board of the relationship.

n Reporter Darrin Stineman can be reached at 822¬­-1416 or by e-mail at dstineman@salina.com.

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