After months of challenges and difficult news from the Vashon Park District, the commissioners recently changed a policy, and now two men have the unenviable task of choosing between their jobs and their homes.
At the heart of the matter, district officials say, is that these two men hold two district jobs each — a situation commissioners say that could create issues of liability, excessive overtime pay and disciplinary concerns. The men — Scott Provost and Eric Wyatt, park caretakers and full-time maintenance workers — have until the end of the year to make a decision and move ahead.
Looking at the decision strictly as a matter of policy, we understand why the commissioners voted to set a new course. People charged with overseeing a park district should work to prevent the problems some commissioners foresaw as possibilities.
At the meeting David Hackett, typically forthright, held back his opinions and seemed to try to buy the men and their families more time. In the end, three of the commissioners decided the transition should be completed in six months.
Hackett abstained from the vote, later saying, “The human part of it overwhelmed me a little bit.”
That reaction is completely appropriate. While smart policies are vitally important, human beings are vitally important as well, and we worry what ramifications this decision might have on the people most affected by them. Wyatt declined to talk about this situation, but Provost is clearly and understandably struggling with it.
Given the high stakes for two of their employees, we wonder how thoroughly the commissioners considered all the options and the most basic of consequences. If, for example, Provost and his family choose to move their home, depending on the site, it could take a year for the proper permits, according to Greg Wessel, with the county’s Department of Permitting and Environmental Review. For a new caretaker at Paradise Ridge, Ameling said the district could advertise a spot of land for someone to put a home on. Perhaps just the right people will find this enticing — or perhaps not.
When discussing the difficulty of the situation, Hackett noted that the board and staff all know each other. To us, it does not seem all park officials acted as though they do. Why did no one reach out to those whose homes and jobs are at stake, tell them of their concerns and attempt to find a solution that works all the way around? Sydney Luhr asked a sincere question: “How hard would it have been to have a conversation with Scott and me?”
We think that is a good question and an important one. As this process moves forward, we hope commissioners will remember the value of human relationships and make every effort to work with those affected in a way that is compassionate, clear and respectful given their years of service to the district.
