Published: July 19, 2008 10:35 pm            

Crossen: ‘I haven’t got over this’

Scathing memo, incomplete evaluation sealed end for recreation head

Roger Crossen’s first evaluation as Whitfield County recreation department director in 1987 was glowing.

“Always professional,” “communicates well,” “positive” and “loyal” were used to describe Crossen’s “very good” overall job performance.

His latest review, however, was never finished.

“Not a self-starter,” “lives in the past,” “not a decision maker” and “one dimensional” were used by county administrator Bob McLeod to chronicle Crossen’s performance from July 1, 2007, to June 30, 2008. The evaluation resulted in a rating between “inconsistent” and “unsatisfactory.”

McLeod, who started as county administrator in April 2007, was so disappointed in Crossen’s leadership he wrote a blistering four-page memo a day after stopping work on the evaluation. In the memo, McLeod outlined problems he found in the recreation department, from unsafe conditions at Pleasant Grove Park, an unwillingness to provide new facilities at Edwards Park to numerous complaints from disgruntled parents. On the memo dated July 1 of this year, McLeod wrote: “I will ask for his resignation.”

Nine days later, McLeod met with Crossen and county human resources director Jackie Palacios. At the meeting, Crossen resigned.

The resignation was hand-written on a sheet of notebook paper.

More than 23 years with the recreation department was over in 43 words.

Crossen received 28 1/2 days paid time off and three months severance pay with current benefits. Crossen’s salary for 2008 would have been $57,009. The county did not provide The Daily Citizen with the financial impact of the severance package.

The Daily Citizen recently reviewed Crossen’s personnel file, which the county provided after an open records request. Amid the yearly pay raise notices, his transcript from Dalton Junior College and the United Way pledge cards are 12 pages of the memo and evaluation that Crossen said he never saw.

After being read some of the concerns on Friday, Crossen was perplexed and hesitant to comment on McLeod’s assessment. Crossen said he is “thinking about seeking (legal) counsel” because of the nature of his resignation.

“I don’t know what to say,” Crossen said when reached at his Tunnel Hill home. “I really don’t know what to say. I guess that’s why everything came as such a surprise to me.”

McLeod has repeatedly declined to comment on Crossen’s resignation or job performance, saying he does not discuss personnel with the media. Last week, he commented about Crossen to The Daily Citizen, saying, “I respect him and wish him well.”

Crossen oversaw 38 athletic programs in 12 communities and said there were approximately 2,500 kids that participated in baseball and softball programs this summer. Nearly 5,000 volunteers are also involved in the program.

But according to the documents, McLeod wasn’t satisfied.

At the Edwards Park near Varnell, McLeod included photos from the summer 2007 of a debris pile in the middle of a parking area. McLeod wrote the parking area “was used as a dump by staff and public, unsafe and unsightly.” He told Crossen to haul the debris to the dump.

“He (McLeod) never directed me to do any of that,” Crossen said.

Crossen said the materials were removed.

McLeod wrote that another debris pile was discovered on a hilltop at Edwards Park last spring. McLeod wrote in his memo, “This may be where some of the material found in the parking area last summer was dumped rather than hauled to the landfill.”

McLeod also pointed to problems at Pleasant Grove Park from the summer of 2007: broken windows, damaged fences, weeds and bleacher problems. Asked if McLeod had told Crossen of the problems, Crossen said, “Last summer, he said the fence around the playground was unsafe and I got that replaced.”

However, Crossen said county officials did not instruct him to repair playgrounds. Crossen asked the Pleasant Grove Ruritan Club to repair the swings.

McLeod included pictures he said were taken at Pleasant Grove Park this month still showing problems with fences, broken swings and graffiti.

“I guess I should have gone back and checked them,” Crossen said. “But if you go back and start repairing all the playgrounds at the parks, you’re going to run out of money before long. There’s no money in the budget to repair playgrounds.”

Crossen said the local athletic associations were responsible for upkeep of the playgrounds.

The county’s recreation department budget this year is $883,633, up from $756,268 in 2007.

Crossen’s ability to adapt to new opportunities was questioned. The city of Varnell recently agreed to allow the county recreation department to use its gym. But McLeod wrote Crossen “has not shown plans or initiative to start programming at the facility.”

McLeod wrote Crossen is “set in his ways, doesn’t listen to new approaches and ways of approaching work.” McLeod wrote he told Crossen the county was moving forward with plans to build a picnic pavilion, playground, volleyball courts and horseshoe pits at Edwards Park.

“He (Crossen) told me that if we build these facilities it will just attract gangs and drug dealings. (In other words, don’t build them!),” McLeod wrote. “I told Roger they would be built and if there were problems the county would ask the sheriff for regular patrols in the area.”

Crossen said the conversations he had with McLeod about the additions “did not happen like that,” but declined to comment further.

“You know what? I better keep quiet and I better seek counsel on this because this has just got me baffled,” Crossen said. “It absolutely has me baffled. I can tell you that was not said to me in that fashion or in that way.”

Crossen said his last completed evaluation was by former county administrator Bradley Arnold on June 30, 2005. That was also the most recent annual review in Crossen’s personnel file, other than McLeod’s incomplete evaluation. Arnold rated Crossen’s performance as “meets expectations.” Of the 66 categories listed, Crossen received 58 “meets expectations” and eight “exceeds expectations.”

On the 2008 evaluation, McLeod rated the 66 categories as follows: 17 “successful,” nine “inconsistent” and 40 “unsatisfactory.” The county changed evaluation formats several times between the 1987, the 2005 and 2008 reviews.

In the conclusion of McLeod’s memo, he wrote: “There are serious problems within the department that need immediate attention. This staff person has not shown the initiative or skills necessary to manage the existing safety, health and operational details of the department. Further, he has not shown the leadership necessary to manage a larger program.”

Now, county officials are looking for that leader. The new recreation department director will also oversee a growing parks system and expanded activities program for adults. The search is expected to take several months.

Meanwhile, the 56-year-old Crossen has fielded calls about job possibilities. But his resignation from the department he oversaw for 17 years still stings.

“I haven’t got over this,” Crossen said. “It was a complete surprise.”

        

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