GALVESTON — Standing at the podium in the park board conference room, Chuck Coburn was admittedly upset.
He was unhappy with his nine bosses: each trustee appointed by city council to oversee the $15 million organization.
And he’s not alone. Many of the 70 or so other park board employees say they agree with Coburn.
At the crux of the problem is an upcoming search for a next board executive director and the loss earlier this month of the former board head — Charles “Gil” Langley — who resigned after just 11 months on the job.
“The board has made a bunch of mistakes,” Coburn said during the public comment period at Tuesday’s park board meeting. “We are paying all these presidents or directors a large amount of money and now we are looking at hiring another one. I don’t think it needs to happen.”
Trustees faced a barrage of criticism Tuesday — from employees and the general public. Some community members said it was time for a change in the board’s makeup, others suggested disbanding the government body altogether.
Incoming city council members have also taken an interest in the park board’s future. Mayor-elect Lyda Ann Thomas attended the packed meeting, as did incoming council member Danny Weber. Former councilwoman Dianna Puccetti has signed up for an open slot on the board.
Council member Joe Jaworski, who was not at the meeting, said last week that he was considering ways to put part of park board operations — from financial to administrative duties — under the jurisdiction of the city. This issue is on Thursday’s council workshop agenda for discussion.
All this comes as the board is deciding if, when and how to begin a search for a new executive director. A three-trustee committee on Tuesday recommended choosing a final candidate by mid-August — preferably from the Texas or Gulf Coast markets.
The board will vote on these recommendations at a special meeting on June 3.
On May 3 Langley resigned from his then $130,000 job, following a five-hour board meeting concerning his performance.
A new contract, which never went into effect, would have given him a potential $50,000 raise. Much of the current unrest can be attributed to this resignation, and Langley’s brief tenure with the organization.
As part of a 13-point paper compiled by park board department heads and presented to board members Tuesday, employees said they thought the board has embarrassed itself, had failed to heed previous warnings about Langley and had “overlooked it’s fiscal responsibilities as it related to public funds.”
In the document, which was presented by interim executive director Lou Muller, staff recommended not “rushing out to find a new person,” and suggested that an employee representative be included on the search committee.
Roger “Bo” Quiroga, who steps down as mayor on Wednesday, is considering applying for the job.
Trustees voted Tuesday to request a refund of $22,500 from Maximus, a search company hired last year to find an executive director.
In a letter to Maximus, board attorney Carla Cotropia said the company had been “grossly negligent and utterly failed to do a responsible background check on Charles Langley.”
The park board has also hired an outside company to complete an audit of the organization, which will be released next month.
Several board members Tuesday apologized to employees for any failings over the last year.
“I assure you that I personally want to see the image of the park board change,” said board chairman Gerry Del Prete. “We do want the staff’s comments, we welcome them. I know these have been some troubling times.”
