On June 5, embattled Hot Springs mayor Carl Oberlitner - who was recalled through a petition approved by the city council Feb. 5 - faces off against two other candidates to see whether he is able to finish the term he was scheduled to complete in 2008.

In the Hot Springs recall election, Oberlitner faces council member Don Patitz, one of the people who sought to recall him, and Shaman Gallery owner Adam Heath.

Oberlitner has faced controversy since last year.

Patitz, city councilman Jose Trinidad and others have criticized Oberlitner's handling of the golf course land-swap deal with developer Steve Simunek and the sale of the old city library.

A state audit in 2006 found that the city did not follow proper procedures in the golf course land-swap deal, in violation of state law.

Trinidad turned in a petition Jan. 26 of this year to recall Oberlitner, who declined to step down.

All three candidates cited different strengths as mayor but seemed to agree that getting through the town's controversy is a key issue.

Adam Heath

Heath, 59, sees himself as the neutral party in a race involving two sides - Oberlitner's and Patitz's.

"You can take sides in this town, or you can set the sides aside and go forward," Heath said. "And I'm sort of the neutral party in the middle that just wants to move the community forward … and doesn't want to participate in looking back. We need to resolve the things that we've got, and we need to move on."

Heath, who has worked as a supervisor for petroleum companies in Alaska and until recently led the Fall River Historical Society, said he has experience in management that would help him as mayor.

He said he is good at "dealing with people, dealing with conflict resolution, dealing with personality types."

Heath's plan for solving the current controversy is to bring in a large-group facilitator that has helped other towns solve problems.

He said a number of people in the community asked him to run because they believed that he would be able to solve some of the town's problems.

"The community is pretty much fed up with it (the town's controversy)," he said. "So a lot of people asked me if I would step in and try to get some resolution to the conflicts that exist and to help develop a way forward for the community."

Heath said the community must negotiate the golf course problems and deal with the difference between what was expected of the golf course and what was completed.

He said the major issue for the community is to plan for the future and go forward beyond the issues that have plagued it.

Don Patitz

Patitz, 49, and the owner of Quality Cleaners in Hot Springs, served on the city council for two years. He said he is good at paying attention to details, which could help the community with its current situation.

He said he didn't run just because he believed that Oberlitner should be out of office. Other council members asked Patitz to run when the petition recall process was going through, he said. "I was asked if I would run if they did a recall, and I said that I would."

Patitz said he would like to solve the golf-course issues by letting it straighten itself out in court.

"Since it wasn't done in accordance to law, we have to go through the courts to straighten it out," he said. "Otherwise, we would still be ignoring the law. As far as I'm aware, we're working under the guidance of the attorney general's office through our city attorney."

Some of Patitz's goals if elected mayor would be to "continue improvements to our parks," focus on the upkeep of city infrastructure and build a city swimming pool.

He said the city's memorandum involving the golf course offered a payoff to the developer for his construction costs, which was to be paid for by increasing fees.

Patitz believes that the city should pay those costs so golf fees can stay the same.

"One of the issues as far as the lawsuits are concerned is, 'what is the actual cost for the construction of the course,'" he said. "Once that is determined, I would like to offer a payoff in some fashion so we don't increase fees."

He would also like to separate the city's issue with the developer so the city can move on.

Carl Oberlitner

Oberlitner, 63, owns the Winner's Circle bowling alley in Hot Springs, where he has served as mayor for 13 years. He said he is running for mayor to stand up for himself.

"I guess I'm not a quitter," he said. "I'd kind of like to vindicate my good name."

He has admitted to mistakes in the golf-course dealings but said he admitted to those mistakes because he was ultimately responsible as mayor.

"I'll take responsibility for those mistakes even though I did the proper thing," he said, explaining that everything that happened with the golf course was approved by city attorneys, who missed legal details, and the city council.

Oberlitner says the petition to recall him was "a composite of falsehoods and innuendoes."

He said he'd "just like to have the voters vindicate my good name."

If elected to continue his term, Oberlitner, who was banned from city council executive sessions months ago, would ask the council to allow him to help straighten out the golf course problems.

"I will ask the council at that point to empower myself to go ahead and strike up some negotiations with the two developers involved so that we can come to a meeting of the minds and get it out of the court systems," he said.

Oberlitner said other issues the city is facing include building new streets to compensate for growth and possibly expanding rural water agreements.

He cites his record of getting things done - such as getting the Mueller Center built in the 1980s and dealing with floodplain and city debt issues.

"I stand on my record," he said. "I've accomplished an awful lot of things in this community."

Three city council seats also up for grabs

Not only does Hot Springs have a mayor's race, but the town also has three council seats that are up for grabs.

In Ward 2, local Hot Springs business owner David Burris squares off against retired coal-operations manager Barry Field and semi-retired attorney Catherine Ratliff.

The Ward 3 race pits incumbent Carolann Schwarzenbach against recently retired motel manager Don DeVries. Devries was appointed to the council in the 1980s, serving two terms and then serving one term as mayor.

In Ward 4, Chuck Catlett will be attempting to hold the seat he has held for a number of years. He will face retired South Dakota National Guardsman and current Veterans Affairs employee Michael Layton and local Hot Springs business owner Robert Walker.

Contact Ryan Woodard at 394-8412 or ryan.woodard@rapidcityjournal.com