Executive Fired, But Fires Back

1-8-10

Facing a $100,000 reduction in state and county grants, the Foothills Performing Arts Center plans to “slow down, take a breath and move forward at a slower pace,” according to the chairman of its Board of Directors.
Douglas Reeser gave that assessment on emerging from a morning-long board meeting Tuesday, Jan. 5, that followed its dismissal of Jennifer McDowall, the executive director since March, and the resignation of key staffers, including business manager Tina Costa.
But they didn’t go quietly, convening a press conference in the Clarion Hotel that same morning, where McDowall released a letter from the staff to state Sen. Jim Seward, R-Milford, calling for the board’s executive committee to resign “to salvage this situation ... before irreparable damage has been done.”
Despite this week’s events, Foothills plans to continue “scheduled programs” through the winter – they include this weekend’s Bridal Show, the first of the year, Sunday, Jan. 10 – and to bring aboard an “interim director” until matters can be stabilized and a course charted.
Talk had circulated in recent weeks that Foothills might face a restructuring.  A $75,000 state grant it had anticipated had disappeared, and the county Board of Representatives had eliminated a further $25,000 in bed-tax money.
But the first indication something immediate was in the offing came Sunday, Jan. 3, when McDowall issued a press release announcing the state Labor Department had approved Foothills’ participating in the Shared Work Program, allowing arts center staffers to cut back to 60 percent of the work week and receive partial unemployment.
At 4:51 the next afternoon, another release from McDowall announced the Tuesday morning press conference.
Tuesday morning, however, a press release arrived from the Foothills board saying McDowall “had departed from her role,” and that four other staffers were also leaving.  In addition to McDowall and Tina Costa, John Costa, Jessica Mackey, Geoff Doyle and Christina Hunt departed.
“We have accomplished a great deal in the past two years,” Reeser was quoted as saying in the release.  “We need to ensure that our management team is able to sustain the momentum and work in partnership with the board.”
He expressed disappointment with staff’s management of the organization, particularly “fiscal accountability,” adding, “Many choices were made without consulting and advising the board.”
“We plan to continue with the programming schedule we have in place for the coming months,” he said. “However, our main focus will be strategic planning and completing the main theatre space.”
At the press conference, McDowall also released a report from Bill Lelbach, former managing director, Chenango River Theater, identifying what he considered flaws in the new theater’s construction.
They include insufficient incline in the seating, problems with the stage floor and too-small dressing rooms.
Reeser said his priority is completion of the stage floor and installation of sound-proofing, so the 650-seat theater can be put into use.