The feud between Kenmore City Manager Fred Stouder and City Councilman John Hendrickson seems to just keep going.

At a Feb. 22 council meeting, Hendrickson took square aim at Stouder, reading from e-mails he later said he solicited from the city manager’s critics in at least one town where Stouder previously worked.

Hendrickson claimed the letters proved a pattern of behavior by Stouder, a pattern allegedly including not being able to get along with specific councilmembers or public critics.

Citing ongoing conflicts with Hendrickson, Stouder last month asked Kenmore Council to reconsider his contract. That conflict between Stouder and Hendrickson is starting to get noticed outside of the city. Radio station KUOW, Seattle’s National Public Radio outlet, did a detailed report on the spat the same day as the recent council session.

In the comments he made during that meeting, Hendrickson said the three e-mails he gathered paint Stouder as displaying “anger management issues” while he was city administrator in Prosser, Wash.

“He was very frightening and very problematic; he was so good with losing his professionalism,” wrote Debra Richards, a former editor of the Prosser Record Bulletin.

Richards claimed Stouder lost his temper, used foul language and walked out of at least three public meetings to the best of her recollection.

After Stouder left Prosser, that city paid out $175,000 to settle a public records lawsuit filed by a resident.

In the lawsuit, resident Larry Loges, a consistent public critic of the Prosser administration, claimed the city, while Stouder was administrator, failed to fill or improperly filled 41 public record requests made by Loges.

Loges also filed a federal lawsuit over a separate incident in which he claimed Prosser police, at the direction of Stouder, improperly removed from his property signs displaying anti-government messages. In an e-mail sent Hendrickson, Loges claims that suit was settled by Prosser for $85,000. That statement could not be confirmed.

Referring to Stouder as “Freddy,” Loges also claimed Stouder tried to have him arrested during a Prosser council meeting “because I was asking questions and questioning his statements.”

At the recent Kenmore council session, Stouder spent 15 to 20 minutes refuting Hendrickson’s claims. He said while he had his critics in Prosser, he also had his supporters and well-wishers when he left. Stouder said the city’s mayor pushed to have Prosser development regulations strictly enforced, which was possibly not the case previously. Stouder said that stance naturally created some resentment.

As an example, Stouder said a controversy over a winery development stemmed from the owner’s initial refusal to undertake a traffic study.

In the course of his long remarks, Stouder said the “biggest mistake” he made as Kenmore city manager was not filing a formal complaint against Hendrickson for an incident allegedly involving the councilman and the city clerk. Among other points, Stouder claimed Hendrickson violated city policy by attempting to meet with the clerk privately, behind closed doors.

While Hendrickson has repeatedly claimed the city is unresponsive to public records requests, Stouder’s retort was that the councilman never showed to review several boxes of materials on the reconstruction of State Route 522.

Stouder’s comments were interrupted by Councilman Bob Hensel, who asked that the meeting be wrapped up due to the possibility of bad weather and the late hour.

Prior to the public portion of the Feb. 22 meeting, council held a closed-door, executive session to discuss personnel matters. Such private council discussions are allowed by state law for certain topics, including personnel issues. Mayor David Baker later stated the matter at hand was Stouder’s request regarding his contract. Baker declined to give any details of the discussion, but said no agreement was reached. He added he expected to have an announcement at the next Kenmore Council session.

Stouder’s contract is set to expire at the end of this year. Officials already are in at least the early stages of searching for his successor.