Friends of Hemming Park leadership didn’t receive an answer Wednesday about its short- or long-term future running Downtown’s iconic park.
What did it receive from City Council members?
Bouts of harsh criticism intertwined with a little support to at least see the group through the next couple of months.
And, a week after a critical council auditor’s report highlighted a slew of questionable expenses in the past year and a half, the revelation that a hallmark project is in financial jeopardy certainly didn’t help the situation.
The council’s Hemming Park Special Committee met for the first time to determine what direction the park should travel and what entity should be the driver.
It was the first opportunity for council members to directly question Friends leadership about the audit.
The nonprofit has received $1.1 million in taxpayer dollars to operate the park, but thousands of dollars spent for items like meals and trips for furniture drew varying levels of scrutiny.
Council Vice President John Crescimbeni was the harshest, asking both Friends board President Wayne Wood and CEO Vince Cavin how they had the “audacity” to show up at the meeting after the auditor’s report. He asked if either had considered resigning.
Wood said he had not. He said he believed the group has a plan to “do something great for the city” that the government couldn’t pull off.
“We have made great strides,” he told the committee.
Cavin noted the nonprofit had raised more than $400,000 to date.
However, Wood admitted some of the group’s early faults. While he told the committee last month that Friends had been frugal and efficient, he said Wednesday that some expenses were “wrong.”
Such missteps, he said, are typical of a young start-up that didn’t have clear lines of expectations — a reference to how the contract was crafted. There were no stipulations outlined in the contract on how taxpayer money could be spent.
Wood said the group for some time was under budget, which led to expenses not being heavily questioned.
But when money tightened, a review showed expenses like community outreach was too much and wouldn’t be happening in the future.
Several on the eight-member committee took the opportunity to show their dismay in those expenses, but another issue cropped up during the meeting.
The owners of Black Sheep restaurant have been in talks with Friends to construct a park kiosk constructed from shipping containers that would serve some of the Riverside restaurant’s popular dishes.
It’s hit a couple of snags, one financial and one procedural.
Updated estimates for the fixed-location kiosk have grown to almost $400,000 due to site work, utilities and the need for a bathroom, according to project documents.
The restaurant group is putting up $90,000, a Friends grant is slated to provide $85,000 and a contractor will rebate the group $52,000 from work performed in the park.
That still leaves a more than $172,000 gap, with the restaurant group saying Wednesday it was seeking public assistance.
Additionally, the restaurant has been spending money for the project but doesn’t have a signed agreement with the city. It’s been working with Friends, but the city is the park owner.
When council attorneys asked about legal documents authorizing any work and an agreement, it was Mayor Lenny Curry’s team that answered.
“There isn’t one,” said Sam Mousa, Curry’s chief administrative officer. “They proceeded at their own risk, in my opinion.”
The issues, along with Friends using about $75,000 of grant money slated for the Black Sheep project for park operations, were examples of questionable judgment calls by Friends decision-makers, said council President Lori Boyer.
There are more pressing issues in the next several weeks, though.
Friends has a cash flow problem and is scheduled to run out of money in mid-August without a $150,000 boost to get the nonprofit through the rest of the year. There was no recommendation Wednesday, but several council members offered tepid support to see the group through at least the fiscal year.
“Turning off the faucet in the middle of this would be inappropriate,” said council member Bill Gulliford, who wanted the almost $75,000 in grant money spent paid back for the Black Sheep Project.
Council member Danny Becton said there was blame to go around, even on city officials who hadn’t been meeting regularly to review the group.
“People make mistakes,” he said of Friends.
And through it all, no one — not Friends or city leaders — had come up with a “miracle” solution to better corral inappropriate behavior by some park patrons.
A Friends staff member will compile some suggestions on how the city can help for the next meeting in a couple of weeks.
By then, there could be a decision renders about the short-term future of the nonprofit and the park.
After that, it would be on to determining whether the $250,000 Curry has budgeted for the group will be enough or if another group or the city needs to step in and take over.
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Wayne Wood: The Friends of Hemming board president told the committee there were “missteps” along the way in nonprofits start, including some “embarrassing” expenses he should have caught. “Our whole idea was to dream big,” he said. He said the group has learned from its mistakes and has a plan for the park the city couldn’t accomplish.
John Crescimbeni: The City Council vice president has gone from a Friends ally to critic after an audit showed expenses he says are excessive. The spending has been enough that he has “no confidence left” in the group and wants to see a change in direction. “Why we are just kowtowing to this group across the street, I don’t know. But I’m done.”
Danny Becton: One of several council members who has been critical of the nonprofit’s expenditures, but also still sees the opportunity — if some key elements like park safety can be addressed. “People make mistakes,” he said. “I think they have learned.” Plus, he said, the city has its share of blame, too.
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