One week prior to retiring unexpectedly and without notice, Odessa Parks and Recreation Director Steve Patton was handed a five-day suspension notice for “allowing” his deputy director to drink at a work-related dinner and be over-served.
According to records obtained by the Odessa American under the Texas Public Information Act, Patton was disciplined after he, himself, launched an investigation into allegations Matt Christman urinated in public following the dinner and recommended Christman receive a five-day suspension.
Patton, who had been with the city for more than 32 years, retired March 27. At the time, he declined to discuss rumors swirling about a personnel issue leading to his retirement.
“They have a future ahead of them. When you put something in the newspaper it stays forever, it ruins their career,” Patton said.
Ultimately, Patton said, he was retiring because he wanted to. He said he hadn’t had a vacation in years and it was time for him to to spend time with family.
“I just thought the timing was good for me to retire. We’ve got things happening, we’ve got good staff in place,” Patton said.
According to internal emails obtained by the OA, Patton, Christman, Recreation Superintendent Edward Moreno, Parks Superintendent Randall Anderson and Special Events Coordinator Meagan Hinson went to the Texas Recreation and Park Society Institute and Expo, which was held in Frisco Feb. 28-March 3.
Patton and Human Resource Generalist Elaine Ortega launched an investigation on March 10 and Patton notified Human Resource Director Charles Hurst of their findings in a lengthy email on March 14.
According to that email, everyone but Moreno went to a work-related dinner on March 1 after which Patton got into his rental car and returned to the hotel.
Hinson, Anderson and Christman walked back to the hotel, about a half mile away.
Patton told Hurst that Hinson and Anderson said they thought Christman had had too much to drink and Hinson said she was so uncomfortable she purposely lagged behind Christman on the walk back.
According to the email, both Hinson and Anderson told Patton and Ortega that Christman announced he needed to go to the bathroom, stepped off a trail and they turned away from him as he urinated on a tree.
Also, neither Hinson nor Anderson recalled seeing Christman the following day at any of the conference sessions.
According to the email, Christman initially told Ortega and Patton he didn’t remember much of the conversation on the walk to the hotel. However, he did admit to urinating by a tree when asked if he had done so and “he did not think anything about it at the time.”
Christman said he made sure he was out of view behind a tree, but acknowledged that in addition to Hinson and Anderson, another couple was walking nearby.
Christman told Patton and Ortega he went to “some” of the conference sessions the following day, but couldn’t remember which ones.
Patton told Hurst that “in all likelihood he missed some, if not all, of the Thursday, March 2, 2023 sessions.”
The email Patton sent to Hurst showed he was recommending a five-day suspension for “disregarding public trust” as defined by city rules.
On March 20, Hurst and Interim City Manager Agapito Bernal wrote Patton a letter announcing his own five-day suspension.
“It is clear that you and your staff believed the dinner to be a work-related event. Your role in allowing Mr. Christman to consume alcohol and to be over-served cannot be overlooked. I expect directors to give clear instructions to their staff members and to provide behavioral correction as needed while those employees are serving in an official capacity. You failed to perform either of those duties. In order to reinforce your accountability for this episode of misconduct, I am suspending you for five days without pay. Please coordinate your absence with Mr. Christman’s,” the memo stated.
The memo also noted that if a third party had seen Christman urinating, “a different recommendation would have been in order.”
Seven days later, Bernal sent Mayor Javier Joven an email announcing Patton’s retirement and copied him on the internal email Patton sent to Bernal and Hurst outlining the investigation conducted by himself and Ortega.
“This is an investigation that Mr. Patton initiated. I gave Mr. Patton the weekend to decide on Mr Christman’s punishment. Mr Patton wanted to terminate Mr. Christman. This was a meeting Mr. Patton directed his staff to attend. Mr. Patton was to serve a five-day suspension for his role in this matter. This incident took place in Frisco, TX.”
Later that same night of Patton’s retirement, Bernal gave Christman permission to stand in for Patton during a meeting with Council member Steve Thompson about Ratliff Ranch golf course.
Christman started with the city in April 2022. He spent five years as a recreation coordinator in Marana, Arizona and two years as a recreation superintendent in Columbia, South Carolina.
