Peabody finally picks new chief
Staff writer
After three separate executive sessions in a meeting that stretched over two hours, Peabody City County voted Monday to appoint Matthew Neal police chief.
Neal has been retired for a year from his most recent job, the main school resource officer at Rose Hill schools.
He was chief of the school’s police department, a separate entity from the Rose Hill police department, from 2019 to 2024. He was the only officer in the department for the majority of his time with the school.
School resource officers provide security and attempt to build relationships with students. Officers possess the same authority as those in regular law enforcement.
The department was created because the school “didn’t have a great working relationship” with Rose Hill police department, school district human resources director Lucy Brown said.
“He’s a very nice guy,” Brown said. “He had some health issues, and had to take a leave of absence, and I honestly thought he wasn’t going to be able to do police work any longer. I’m glad to hear that that’s changed.”
She declined to comment on specifics of Neal’s health problems.
Neal was a patrol officer in Hutchison from 2000 to 2007, a chief in Halstead in 2008 and 2009, and a chief in St. John for seven months in 2011.
He has worked other jobs as well, including a 11-month stretch as a criminal justice instructor, 18 months as a business consultant, and almost three years as a morning show host and play-by-play announcer on Ad Astra Radio.
Mayor Catherine Weems said Neal’s employment would hinge on a psychiatric evaluation, drug screening, and background check. The background check will focus on any criminal history and law enforcement training.
The city has conducted private meetings over the past few weeks in which different candidates have interviewed for the position.
Those present at the meetings have included the council, Weems, and private residents, Roxanne Dalke and Joe Hutchison.
The city started off with eight candidates.
Neal “was the top pick unanimously,” Weems said.
Peabody’s other vacant city position is that of city clerk.
A report from Weems on June 9 stated that a clerk should be hired within a week, but plans have s fallen through.
“We thought there was going to be somebody that was going to be good for the job, but it wasn’t going to end up working out in the end on her side,” Weems said. “I think her boss realized that they really wanted to keep her and roped her back in.”
Also discussed at Monday’s council meeting was a water quality report mailed to Peabody residents.
The report, while emphasizing that tap water in Peabody is safe, revealed that three times in the past five years, city officials had failed to conduct mandatory water testing.
The violations occurred in October, 2020; November, 2023; and May 2024.
“No bacteriological samples were pulled during those months,” Hillsboro water supervisor Morgan Marler said. “The city clerk and the certified operator at the time would have been notified via email and paper copy in the mail multiple times.”
Peabody receives water from Hillsboro, but is responsible for t testing.
“We were not aware of this until this report came out,” Weems said. “The people that were accountable for these instances are gone.”
Many cities do not mail full reports to residents, but state law can require mailing if certain violations occur.