It must have been an interesting evening, to say the least.

At the Kenmore City Council meeting on Monday, City Manager Fred Stouder asked to be released from his contract because of the “continued disruptive behavior” of councilman John Hendrickson.

Stouder was slated to retire at the end of 2010, but in the end agreed to stay for another year.

Seems like less than one month into that extra year hasn’t gone so well for Stouder. He knows having a thick skin in his position is necessary to do the job well, but it appears he’s getting cut to the bone these days.

As we’ve read on the Reporter opinion-page letters section over the past year, Hendrickson has many supporters who praise him for asking the tough questions of council regarding the city’s finances. That needs to be done, but in Reporter news stories, we’ve read Stouder and Mayor David Baker say that things are fine with the city’s money situation.

It appears Hendrickson isn’t satisfied with those answers. However, Stouder and Baker stand by their comments and that’s what we’ll have to live with for now. We’ve reported on both sides of the story, so we’ve done our job — several times, in fact, but the issue keeps returning to our pages.

Stouder reached a boiling point, and has considered making a crucial move for him and the city. And that’s to be respected, as well, since one can only take so much before they think about parting ways with someone or something.

I’ve said it before that getting involved in politics isn’t easy and one must take into consideration their well-being and whether they can be productive in their work environment without distractions. That goes for any of us, no matter what job we work or position we hold.

I can understand both sides of this story, and my conclusion is that this is life’s course for all involved and hopefully they can work something out — one-on-one and with the council.