Until documents are delivered in response to the Journal’s FOIA request to Colonial Beach, Journal staff and citizens are left wondering “what just happened?”  
If you’ve followed Colonial Beach news, you know that Police Chief Christopher Hawkins resigned his position on June 1, and then requested council to rescind his resignation or reinstate him as chief on June 10. 
On June 10, in an open meeting and after an hour-and-a-half closed session, council instructed town attorney Andrea Erard to prepare a new contract for Chris Hawkins, after Erard announced “council would like the chief to stay.” At that meeting 23 citizens spoke to council in favor of retaining Hawkins.
So far so good … citizens got involved and let their elected council members know what was on their minds — democracy in action! It seemed to many that it was a done deal; Hawkins stays on by way of a new contract, and with that settled, council gets on with the business at hand. 
And there is a whole lot of business at hand — noise ordinance, serious infrastructure issues, new zoning regulations, creation of a Capital Improvement Plan, the setting of realistic proffers, new parking regulations … the list is endless. 

What happened in between June 10 and June 24 is completely unclear.  We know the town attorney and/or the town manager provided a proposed contract or employment agreement to all council members for their input. 
Fred Rummage has told The Journal that he responded with a suggestion to clarify that “the chief answers to the town manager,” which, by the way, is in accordance with the resolution passed by Council on Aug. 13, 2009, which states that the Police Chief reports to the Town Manager on a day to day basis, but is hired by Town Council.
The Journal has learned that the provision recommended by Rummage, which was included in Hawkins’ new contract, was OK with Hawkins, and that Hawkins has no problem with the town manager.  So what other provisions were added that Hawkins has found so problematic that he will not accept the contract?
Why would council members insist on adding restrictions or other burdens in the contract?
What about the town attorney and town manager, what was their input? 
And, last, but not least, why the blatant secrecy? 
There was not one word spoken by council or staff at a special town council meeting at 4 p.m. on June 24 or at the Public Safety Committee meeting of the same date at 6 p.m.
When the public has become engaged in an issue to the point that they speak out in record numbers during citizen input time, which is not always an easy task for a lot of folks, that’s when council members should strive to remain as open and up-front as possible when making decisions that affect the entire town. 
Citizens should have been informed that Hawkins would not sign the employment agreement offered to him and that his resignation was, in fact, effective Monday, June 28.
It is clear that council members knew what was going on.  An e-mail had been sent to all council members by the town manager at 12:54 p.m. on June 24 explaining that “The Chief of Police, Chris Hawkins, has asked me to advise you of his decision not to pursue negotiating another employment contract with the Town and that his resignation stands.”
It would have been a wise move for council to make an announcement at either the special town council meeting or during the Public Safety Committee meeting that, although Hawkins would not remain as police chief, council was exercising due diligence in finding and hiring an interim chief. 
There still would have been questions and probably FOIA requests, but citizens would at least take some comfort in being acknowledged as a valued and active participant in the governance of their home town.
By council’s silence, citizens feel let down, left out and ignored.  Rumor mills are running at full speed and the telephone lines all over town are all lit up.  So much drama for such a small town with so many real problems to overcome. 
This should be a wake up call to town council.  All too often, service-minded people feel compelled to run for office, get there and realize they are totally out of their league.  And too often, bad decisions are made worse when accountability is taken out of the equation.