|
Francis Campbell
|
Continued troubles at Hill East organization Neighbors United have culminated in the resignation of five board members, including Board Chair Ellen Opper-Weiner, and raised more questions about the future of the group.
An impromptu board meeting in early July focused on several issues, including the role of Opper-Weiner in the organization. At that meeting, eight board members voted to remove Opper-Weiner from her position.
The board turnover comes at a time when Neighbors United is vying to lead future community programming at the former Boys and Girls Club Eastern Branch building, which was purchased by the city earlier this summer.
Opper-Weiner maintains that the July meeting was an “illegally called meeting,” and that the vote therefore did not require her to hand over the group’s reins. However, Opper-Weiner and fellow board members Leo Pinson, Treasurer Josh Boots, Secretary Katie Hodge and Erin Meadors resigned from the board at a meeting several days later.
“I no longer wanted to be affiliated with the group since our mission was to unite the neighborhood, and it didn’t appear as if we were going to be able to do that,” Opper-Weiner said of her resignation. “Apparently there were some people on the board that didn’t want to work with other people on the board.”
Long-time Hill East resident Francis Campbell, who was elected to the Neighbors United board along with three other community residents in May, has become the new board chair. Campbell, who is also an ANC 6 B commissioner, said the board voted against Opper-Weiner because of concerns about the direction of the organization.
“They decided that they wanted to try to take a step to give their opinions more power,” he said.
Campbell also said the decision to replace Executive Director Jerry May was a precursor to the end of Opper-Weiner’s involvement with the group. Opper-Weiner and the members of the board’s executive committee voted to remove May from his position and find someone else to run the group because of concerns about May’s job performance.
Neighbors United’s staff members, as well as the new board members, wanted May to stay on at the organization. At the July board meeting calling for the removal of Opper-Weiner, board members also voted to rehire May.
A conflicted exit
Although Opper-Weiner is not happy about the way her involvement with Neighbors United ended, she is hopeful that the organization will be able to provide a benefit to the community.
“It’s too bad because we had a great opportunity to reunite the neighborhood,” she said. “I wish them well, and I hope they’re successful in whatever their agenda is.”
Opper-Weiner expressed concern about the ability of the organization to survive in the long-term.
“I’m concerned about the fiscal responsibility of the organization...There’s just a lot of things that have to be taken care of, and hopefully they will take care of them,” she said, adding that she was not implying any evidence of financial misconduct within the group.
Opper-Weiner also denied that problems existed at Neighbors United during her tenure, saying that community concerns about the organization’s future plans for Payne Elementary programming were unfounded.
“There was no problem until people were told lies that we were planning to close programs at Payne,” she said. “It’s very unfortunate.”
Next step
Campbell said that now is the time to bring together everyone affiliated with Neighbors United and figure out a plan to move forward. He also will be reviewing the organization’s financial situation and meeting with City Council officials to continue to pursue a leadership role in the Eastern Branch site.
“I would like us to be the dominant group in there to run community-based programs. The important thing right now is are we a viable organization and are we going to able to secure adequate funding to do those things?” he said.
Campbell admitted that resolving the turmoil at Neighbors United will be a difficult task, saying that this issue is related to the “old versus new and me versus you attitude” held by many people in the community.
“I’m not trying to play politics with this,” he said. “I’m trying to do the best that I can do, and I hope that people will give me a helping hand. But there might be some decisions that I have to make as the board chair that might not be popular.”
May said that the developments at Neighbors United should help the organization secure more support from the community.
“What has transpired in the last two months has reestablished that the organization will now be responsive to the community and be supported by the community, and I think that that was necessary all along to secure a place in the Eastern Branch,” he said. |
