Fair manager ready to resign because of turmoil over hiring of employees

The Wahkiakum County Fair may or may not have a manager.

Last Thursday, the county board of commissioners offered the job to former Manager Becky Ledtke, who had been recommended by the Wahkiakum Fair Board, an advisory board appointed by county commissioners to set policy for the fair.

Ledtke had been ready to accept the offer.

However, a controversy over the authority to hire and fire employees led Ledtke to tell the board of commissioners on Tuesday, that she was withdrawing her acceptance. She supplied a letter outlining her concerns, and Commission Chair Blair Brady led a discussion to address them.

In the end, Ledtke agreed to hold off on her resignation for another week to see if the commission's input would settle the controversy.

Hiring of a handyman and temporary summer employees is a major issue in the controversy.

Commissioners had hoped to hire a handyman last week, but they held off when they learned the board had seen the resumé of only one of two applicants. They asked the fair board to evaluate the two applicants and make a recommendation at Tuesday's meeting.

The fair board didn't have the resumés when it met last week, and the candidates weren't invited to the meeting for interviews. Consequently, the fair board decided to hold another meeting last night (Wednesday) to interview the candidates in person, said Commissioner Mike Backman, who represents the county commission on the fair board.

However, the board, by a 7-1 vote, did pass a motion last week assuming responsibility for hiring and firing employees, including, Ledtke said, the manager.

Backman said he understood the motion to mean that the fair board would require justification for hires or fires, and that it would send recommendations to the county commission.

Hiring of a handyman or temporary employees has been the responsibility of the manager, said commission Chair Blair Brady. He added that the commission last week had given the fair board authority to recommend a handyman in this one case.

"The fair board doesn't hire or fire; they make recommendations," Brady said. "The fair manager is able to make recommendations to the fair board which then come to us."

Ledtke said the fair board's action was outside the scope of her original job description. Being managed by a 12-member board and lacking the authority to hire temporary workers would restrict her ability to complete fair management responsibilities in a timely manner, she said.

"In essence, they changed the fair advisory board to a governing board," she said.

Ledtke said the handyman position should have been filled by May 1 in order to have the fairgrounds in good shape for coming events, including the Dollars For Scholars barbecue and car show scheduled June 1.

The fair board hasn't signed agreements with Dollars for Scholars, she said, because they can't guarantee the grounds will be ready for the June 1 scholarship fund raising program.

Brady asked Ledtke what needed to be done to get her to take on the manager's job.

Ledtke responded with several requests, including asking that Commissioner Dan Cothren replace Backman as the commission's fair board representative. She also asked that the board do something about two fair board members who, she said, were fighting against her.

Cothren declined the request to replace Backman.

"That's not going to happen," he said. The board has selected Backman as its representative, and he needs to be involved, Cothren said. Instead, he asked Backman to help control the meetings.

Ledtke also asked that fair board members turn in their keys to the fair grounds, that the board hire a certain person as handyman, and that the fair board be an advisory, not governing board.

Backman told his colleagues he objected to allowing Ledtke to dictate her conditions.

"No," Brady said, "I asked. I don't know how we will put on a fair without Becky Ledtke."

After more discussion, commissioners voted to hire one of the candidates for the handyman position on a contract to work 40 hours in the coming week to prepare the fairgrounds for the Dollars for Scholars event.

Backman objected, saying that could sway the hiring process, but Brady and Cothren agreed that the grounds need to be ready for Dollars for Scholars.

Backman did agree to attend the fairboard meeting last night (Wednesday) and talk to members about being respectful of each other.

With most of her concerns addressed, Ledtke agreed to withhold her resignation at least one week. A large part of her decision would rest on how well the board gets along.

"We'll see how you do, Mike," she said to Backman.