Директора парка в округе Оссиола уволили за неподчинение после разоблачения аварийных условий

OSCEOLA COUNTY — The former manager of an Osceola County campground says he was fired last Wednesday, one day after speaking to the county board about deteriorating conditions at the park. Jeff Reuther, who managed Rose Lake County Park for two seasons, addressed county commissioners last week Tuesday, regarding maintenance issues, including broken water mains and unmaintained bathrooms. County officials cited insubordination as the reason for Reuther’s termination, which was followed shortly by the resignation of several other campground staff members. Reuther said he believed his termination was retaliation for bringing to light the issues staff and campers have been facing after he addressed run-down park conditions at a parks meeting last Tuesday. He said he was accused of several things, including contacting the media, and playing a part in bringing the campers to the meeting to air theur concerns. Reuther denied contacting the media or encouraging campers to attend the county board meeting.“I was told it was because of the secret meeting I held and the fact that I brought the media and the campers to the meeting. If I hadn’t had done that, I would still have a job,” Reuther said. Reuther explained that holding a meeting with park visitors was part of his duties. “The only thing I organized was a meeting, per my job as manager of the park. I’m supposed to field questions at the end, concerns that the campers have and bring it to their attention,” Reuther said. He added, “I think it was unjust for one. I was doing my job.” According to Reuther, severe staffing shortages made operating the campground difficult for months. “We tried to get help for five months in the park, try to get employees because we’re so low staff. There’s a lot of stuff that we couldn’t do that we did last year,” Reuther said. Describing the friction with county management, he added, “we came here to help, but we weren’t getting the help. And when we pressed it, the pressure came back on us.” He noted that his termination “didn’t settle right with a lot of the campers that I’ve talked to since then and it doesn’t settle right with me.” Mark Gregory, chair of the Osceola County Board, confirmed that Reuther was fired for insubordination, but called the issue an internal human resources matter and denied any retaliation.“His separation was not retaliatory. We welcome people to come speak to the board to share their concerns. And voice their problems. So that way we can address them. And if I was him contacting the media, I had no knowledge whether he did it or whom did it, who did it. So that is also non retaliatory,” Gregory said. Gregory stated that county leadership was not informed of the campground’s physical maintenance problems until recently. “We were not made aware of it until just very recently of some of the issues that were occurring at Rose Lake County Park,” Gregory said. Addressing questions regarding campground revenue and maintenance budgets, Gregory stated that funds were not missing as some have been claiming. He said that emergency costs for tree removal, tree cleanup and repairing water pipes that froze and split in recent years depleted the campground’s fund balance. Gregory added that the county formed a special committee to address park concerns and improve lines of communication.