NENA Board fires its two long-time staff members, four board members resign

Board calls Town Hall Meeting for Dec. 11 to replace eight vacancies on the board

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN

Allegations are flying about the Nokomis East Neighborhood Association following the board’s termination of both its executive director and assistant director, and the subsequent resignation of four board members. Both had been on staff for about 15 years.

In the wake of this decision, it is alleged that the board has been meeting regularly in closed executive sessions without staff or the public, and the officers have been operating on their own without full board approval.

As of press time, minutes had not been released of the controversial Oct. 23 meeting, and the board has only printed a short statement about the events (see page 11 for the complete statement).

Despite Messenger requests for comment from all seven remaining board members, only Vanessa Haight and Chair Kent Knopp-Schwyn responded. When asked for details of why the board fired Executive Director Rita Ulrich and Assistant Director Doug Walters, Haight stated, “Out of respect for the privacy of former staff members, I decline to comment.”

Knopp-Schwyn said, “As a human resources matter, employee privacy issues must be maintained; as such all actions leading up to the termination cannot be listed publicly. As much as legally feasible, items were discussed, or moved, or passed in meetings that were open to the public.”

Details of the Oct. 23 meeting

According to now-fired Walters, the Oct. 23, meeting proceeded normally until it was scheduled to end at about 9pm. Then, he said, he saw Board Member Andrea Jauli nudge Board Vice Chair George Jelatis, who produced a pre-printed motion to fire Ulrich and Walters effective immediately. It had not been on the agenda, but he requested that it be discussed based on a “point of personal privilege.”

There was discussion for 75 minutes, much of it regarding procedural items that required answers from “Roberts Rules of Order,” the standard book for proper organization procedure. There was a lack of second on the motion for a period of time, recalled Walters, who said he was in a state of shock. “The chair should have said that the motion died for lack of a second,” stated Walters.

Instead, Chair Knopp-Schwyn asked for discussion on the matter. Eventually Board Member Bill Koncak seconded the motion, but five minutes later sought to withdraw his second.

“I got a copy of Robert’s Rules of Order and gave it to Kent (Board Chair) because they couldn’t figure out what to do,” recalled Walters. The determination was made that he couldn’t drop his second.

Board Secretary Phil Duran and Treasurer Emily Antin voiced their objections to the way the motion came up, how the rest of the board didn’t know this was coming, and the lack of inclusion of the item on the agenda.

They also asked what the reasons were to fire staff.

“There was very little discussion about staff and what the problems might be,” stated former Board Member Marian Streitz, who was one of two community members at the Oct. 23 meeting.

Three board members suggested the vote be postponed until a future meeting to allow for the absent board members to be present, since the whole board was never notified that this matter was going to be discussed.

Board Member Jauli requested that the vote be made by secret ballot.

The ballots were counted by the board chair and Haight.

The vote was 6-3 to terminate Walters and Ulrich. They were immediately escorted from the building and their keys taken.

“I think it was very underhanded,” stated Streitz. “I think it was devious. I think it was planned well in advance and waited until the quorum worked their way.”

Board member resignations follow Board Members Andres Hortillosa, Jill Marckel and Angel Almieda were absent that evening. Hortillosa’s resignation had been approved by the board earlier that evening effective Nov. 1.

Board Members Duran and Antin resigned that night, and Marckel resigned soon after. Almieda announced his resignation on Nov. 12.

Those still on the board include Knopp-Schwyn (who has been chair for four years), Jelatis, Koncak, Haight, Jauli, Helena Pikus-Li, and Mark Preston.

Board statement released Nov. 6

On Oct. 30, NENA held a board meeting, but the remaining board members declined to speak about the terminations, despite a request to do so from residents in attendance and City Council Member Andrew Johnson.

Fourteen days after staff were fired the NENA Board released the following statement, in part:

“The Nokomis East Neighborhood Association (NENA) is making a change in administrative leadership because, despite significant effort over several months, the board has been unable to rebuild and maintain a positive working relationship with existing staff. The board has regretfully concluded that a change in NENA’s day-to-day management was necessary. Maria Fernanda Alcaraz will continue, as Community Outreach Specialist, working with NENA’s Latino community.” (Editor's Note: You can read the statement in its entirety on page 11.)

However, reports indicate neither Walters nor Ulrich have ever received letters of reprimand or negative performance reviews, despite statements made at the Oct. 30 meeting that Ulrich had been previously suspended.

“What really upset me was the way it was handled — not allowing retrieval of personal property and two board members telling some residents that the Executive Director had been suspended before. That is not true,” maintained  community member and former NENA Board Member Cheryl Luger.

“There is no official personnel file held by the board,” asserted Streitz.

Ulrich did receive a letter that was hand delivered by Jelatis (who was not an officer at the time) and Chair Knopp-Schwyn in April, but she says it was not signed, nor ever officially approved by the board during an open board meeting.

Was firing retaliation?

Former Board Member Lisa Dunn believes that Walters and Ulrich were fired in retaliation for a letter Ulrich wrote board members in January 2014. In it Ulrich expressed concern about what the Executive Committee (chair, vice chair, secretary and treasurer) was doing, and pointed out that according to the bylaws the Executive Committee has no decision-making authority on its own. All decisions must be made by the board as a whole.

In the letter, Ulrich sought to clarify the employment position of Latino Community Organizer Yasmin Ventura as a staff member (as opposed to a contract worker) and pointed out how reviews were done per NENA’s policies.

Also, Ulrich discussed the fact that the board had been holding closed executive sessions without stating a purpose, which she noted was a violation of NENA’s bylaws. She maintained that it  also violated the open meeting laws government bodies must adhere to—which she said applied to NENA because of its contracts with the city.

According to Walters, the NENA Board began going into closed executive sessions last year on a regular basis. While the board is allowed to go into closed sessions, they are only to discuss legal and personnel matters. “Were those items really being discussed every meeting all year long?” questioned Dunn.

“I think it was bad form,” said Streitz, who served on the board from 1995 to 2013. The closed executive sessions she was in were argumentative and hostile, and she said they were part of why she resigned last October.

No minutes have been released to staff or the public of these closed sessions, despite the requirement that they be. Board minutes are not available on the NENA web site.

“The board was getting very secretive and not copying staff on routine emails,” noted Ulrich. She added that Chair Knopp-Schwyn “did not have individual conversations or email exchanges with me since April.” That made it not only tough to pull together information for board meetings, but also contributed to a hostile work environment.

“I also pointed out that my staff and I intend to do our job despite the hostile work environment,” recalled Ulrich.

Ulrich mailed the letter to each board member, but said she never received a response from any member. Nor was it discussed at a board meeting when she was present.

Ulrich added, “When board members are breaking policy, it’s my job (as Executive Director) to make sure everyone is aware of that situation and can act. Sadly, they did not.”

“What the Executive Director did is called whistle blowing,” said Dunn. “The Sarbanes-Oxley act, a Federal legislation passed in 2002, protects whistleblowers from retaliation.”

Dunn added, “It seems relationships did become very strained indeed after Rita (Ulrich) tried to hold the Executive Committee accountable. You’ll note with the lack of performance reviews and no language in the statement from the board addressing performance — it sounds as if it was about relationships. I believe this is exactly why federal law is in place to protect whistleblowers. Especially when you are blowing the whistle on those who are members of the board that you report to!”

“Why did it have to be that hostile?”

As of press time, neither Walters nor Ulrich have been allowed back into the office to pick up their personal items, which are significant after 15 years working in the NENA office.

Ulrich, who had worked for NENA since 1999, is upset about how the terminations were handled. “They never talked to me about it not working out,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense. Why did it have to be that hostile? It was unwarranted. It was definitely very personal with a couple of people.”

She added, “I want to see the neighborhood take back its neighborhood association.”

Walters, who has lived in the neighborhood since May 1978, is quite upset about what he believes are lies being circulated by the board regarding himself and Ulrich. He doesn’t hope to get his job back, but he does resent the stain on his character. “We are being destroyed and defamed,” Walters said.

“They have been strong advocates for local empowerment, having spent endless hours advocating for neighbor’s participation rights and funding to make neighborhoods improve their local decision making abilities,” said Luger. “They ran a tight financial ship leveraging and stretching every dollar used in neighborhood capital investment and operations, including good financial reports to the board to be used in board decisions.”

Attempt to dismiss the board

By mid-November a group of neighborhood residents had banded together in an attempt to call a Special Membership Meeting with the expressed purpose of dismissing the remaining seven board members.

The group submitted a statement to the Messenger, which stated in part: "In addition to firing staff without even providing notice to all Board members, they did so irresponsibly, without any transition plans in place or consideration for damage to the organization’s finances, programs and reputation. Those same members now plan to self-appoint additional members to fill the eight open seats. More of the same will not restore NENA’s integrity or its functioning. We know that replacing the remaining board members with people who will act in the neighborhood’s best interest is the first step in rebuilding NENA."

Within days of calling for the meeting, a controversy arose over whether or not the neighbors had the power under state law, and the NENA bylaws, to legally hold a separate meeting with the purpose of dismissing the existing board. The Messenger was told that advice was sought by lawyers on both sides of the debate. Those calling for the special meeting canceled it as of Nov. 24, citing the fact that they did not have the financial wherewithal to pay for legal action against the board.

The prevailing opinion seemed to be that under the current bylaws, only the current board had the  legal right to remove another board member, by a two-thirds vote of the sitting board...with it being highly unlikely that they would vote to remove themselves.

Going forward

Haight, who has been on the board since April 2014, stated, “I think the NENA Board can improve transparency and I welcome any ideas and comments on this issue. I understand why people are upset by the termination and I respect their concern and questions. I also understand the desire for more details related to the staff termination, but privacy concerns have limited the release of such details. I hope those upset by the action continue to ask questions and to stay involved.”

Knopp-Schwyn, who has been on the board for 14 years, noted that board members and retained outreach staff are working in the office and presenting a public face to the neighborhood so neighbors can stop by and visit or discuss issues or concerns. He added that moving forward, the board will again hold regular town meetings at a large public space.

“Hopefully everyone comes together and gets back on track — a little bit more focus on organizational structure and committees,” stated Jim Tennessen, who helped establish NENA in 1988. “I think we are too focused on looking backwards and blaming each other. We need to move forward.”

Eight new board members to be appointed

The board is hosting a Town Hall meeting on Thur., Dec. 11 at 7pm at the Keewaydin School Cafeteria. At this meeting, neighborhood residents can recommend representatives for their specific neighborhoods to fill the eight vacancies on the 15-member board. The board will convene at 8:30pm that same evening to appoint those selected by the membership to the board.