CVB Board terminates staff members

The reorganization of the Putnam County Convention and Visitor Bureau continued Tuesday night with the board terminating the two staff members who had previously been on paid administrative leave.

In two separate votes, the board voted to terminate Executive Director Karla Lawless and Assistant Director Dianna Love.

Board President Rick Patel opened the discussion by saying there had been a discussion of job performance of the two staff members during the executive session prior to Tuesday's meeting. He then asked if anyone wanted to take action based on the discussion in the executive session.

Eric Wolfe made the motion to terminate Lawless, a move seconded by Gail Smith. The motion passed 7-4, with nay votes from Don Gedert, Donna Houser, Tanya Mentgen and Dianna Gorrell.

Michele Faison then made the motion to terminate Love, which was seconded by Manoje Kantilal. The move passed 10-0, with Wolfe abstaining.

On Wednesday, the board released a statement regarding the terminations.

"With the reorganization of the Putnam County Convention and Visitor's Commission, the commission members decided to make a fresh start which included the assessment of its staff," the statement read. "Part of this initiative is to improve tourism in the county by creating new branding, instituting new programs and finding new talent.

"In that context, the commission made the difficult but necessary decision to replace both of its current staff members. In the interim, officers of the commission are dealing with day to day activities and efforts are already underway to find a temporary and then permanent executive director."

The moves were the subject of much discussion and questions during public comments at the end of the meeting.

Beth Broadstreet, organizer of the Krambo's Dash 4 Cash motorcycle ride this Saturday, questioned the wisdom of having the CVB office closed this last month with events such as the ride ongoing this time of year.

She also questioned the wisdom of firing the two employees in the face of public support.

"You don't normally see all of us here because we didn't know there was a problem," Broadstreet said of the standing-room-only crowd. "Dianna and Karla both have busted butt to get tourism here. Maybe there needs to be more direction from your (the board's) level.

"Go back and reconsider what you have done."

When pressed by the audience, some of them family members of the former employees, board members said they could not comment on personnel matters.

When audience members questioned whether the board was hiding something, attorney Glenn Bowman, whom the board voted to retain for two more meetings during the transitional period, stepped in.

"There is no effort to hide things," Bowman said. "It's also about respecting the employee. You're entitled to certain privacy."

When asked why the moves were not held until after an upcoming audit, Patel made the only board comment on the matter, saying the audit is unrelated to personnel matters.

However, the audit was another major topic of discussion, with board members voting to move forward with hiring auditor Charlene Brown of Char's Accounting out of Tippecanoe County.

The plan is for an in-depth audit going back three years. It is uncertain how long the audit will take, and therefore how much it will cost.

The board voted to go with a plan suggested by Brown to cap her work at 100 hours, at which time she will brief them on what she has found and if more work is needed.

The board approved the plan at a rate of $75 per hour.

Another service the board will be seeking is that of a consultant to perhaps serve as interim director and to train whoever is hired into the position permanently.

With a couple of names of retired CVB directors already in hand, a committee of Faison, Page Cotton, Gedert, Wolfe and Steve Greeson was formed to interview candidates.

A hire will have to be made by a vote of the full board.

In the matter of legal counsel, Bowman will be kept on for two more months, but he has urged the board to find someone local.

One local attorney who has been consulting with the board on these matters is Stacy Barclay from Sutherlin and Zeiner. Wolfe publicly thanked her for her help.

Someone else who has been helping the board through the transition has been Carrie Lambert of the Indiana Tourism Association.

She provided some of that guidance in person Tuesday, giving the board a rundown of the ITA and its duties. She also provided some insight on how CVBs are changing in recent years, now taking a place alongside economic development in discussions about the growth and direction of communities.

In one of their final votes of the evening, board members voted to move their regular monthly meetings back to their old date, time and location.

The board will meet at 7 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of each month at the CVB office, 12 W. Washington St. The next meeting is set for Tuesday, July 28.