Bill Price's Statement on Diana Broomell's Resignation

The following is the statement made by Main Street President Bill Price at a :

First let me lay out the chronology of events that led to the decision to relinquish the management duties from Diana Broomell of the Havre de Grace Main Street. Shortly after Diana’s election as County Commissioner of Cecil County, several board members questioned if there would be a conflict of interest, and if Diana would have sufficient time to do both jobs. I decided to take a wait-and-see approach since we were going into the slow season at that time. Shortly thereafter, Diana and I spoke about her hours, where I requested that she try to maintain work during normal business hours, to which she responded that she was unclear about the time requirements [inaudible as Price's voice trails off].

Sometime thereafter, she suggested a job-share approach with Pam Wexler. We met. It seemed like the idea had merit. I’m not sure what became of the concept, but it was never executed. The holiday season came and went. We had a fabulous holiday party, Diana was largely responsible and executed the party. In my absence, Billee Smith took over as manager of Diana.

There was some discussion about the time she wasn’t able to spend in the office during normal business hours. Granted, work was being done, but on several occasions, information was not flowing smoothly, and members indicated they could not reach the office during the day. Billee then had a convesation asking for specific hours of operation, requesting that they be Monday through Friday during normal business hours, with the understanding that Tuesday was County Commissioner Day. Prior to the last board meeting, Billee and Diana met, whereupon Diana suggested we start looking for replacements, further that Diana had achieved what she wanted as a manager, learning about historic preservation and things of that such. Billee then informed the board during our last meeting that Diana had resigned and we would be looking for a new manager.

Several days later, Diana recanted that exchange, and issued an e-mail to all board members that she was surprised by the announcement and wanted to stay as manager. You may believe whichever person you want to, but this is what precipitated the board meeting to meet and discuss the dilemma that Billee now faced.

During the executive board meeting, the issue of time management and other concerns were raised. At the conclusion  of the meeting, it was decided to remove Diana as manager. This was ultimately my decision, albeit unanimously agreed by the executive directors. Since Diana had experessed her concern about being able to serve both organizations, I decided that would be the appropriate explanation as to our course of action. Other concerns are and will remain personnel matters. I refuse to discuss anything further to the public. I will not, I will not tarnish Diana’s good record by airing these matters, which are private.

The executive members agreed to provide Diana severance, and we felt that we should move professionally and swiftly in light of current circumstances. Last Wednesday, we met with Diana, and presented our decision. Diana was very gracious, gave Billee a list of tasks that needed to be attended to, collected her things, and left the office.

There have been some questions rasied as to whether the executive committee and/or the president have the authority to take this action. According to the bylaws, Article 6, Section 2, the president shall be the chief executive officer of the corporation, and shall exercise in general act of business management of the corportation. I construe the general act of business management to include, but not being limited to, personnel matters.

We do not have a company manual to further clarify the roles and responsibilities. Perhaps a committee should be formed to review and write those mandates. There was also some concern about notifying the board prior to the decision. In fact, the last official communication to the board was to announce Diana’s resignation. No further communication was made, other than Diana’s email rescinding that position. Diana did not contact Billee nor myself prior to her email to discuss her position to stay as manager.

The last area of greatest concern is to resquest for a plan moving forward. Several things have happened to keep operations running smoothly. First, Pam Wexler has volunteered to maintain the office functions. The promotions committee is in the midst of launching promotions for First Fridays and historic tours, and is managing all critical promotion functions. Gaby Frank is in the process of booking all the acts for First Fridays. Other committee functions are operating as normal.

The real plan is for the board to become engaged in the execution of the Main Street program. This is the underpinning of the Main Street program. This organization is larger than any one member, any one board member, or any one employee. It cannot  be successful as a solo operation. Volunteers becoming engaged and seeing that the city they care for succeed, can only be done collectively. The plan is to empower the board and the volunteers to make the Main Street organization a vibrant organization.

This is not an easy decision. I've taken a fair amount of criticism and personal attacks. This does not convince me otherwise. I have made the best decision in the interest of the organiztion. We must now begin the healing process, move forward, and continue building a vibrant downtown together.

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For the full story from Tuesday's meeting, go .