SLED investigates parks agency

By Charles Sowell  

SEPTEMBER 1, 2011 2:47 p.m. (0)

The State Law Enforcement Division has opened a preliminary investigation into issues cited by a soon-to-be released audit of Spartanburg County’s recreation department, SLED spokeswoman Kathryn Richardson said this week.

At this stage it is impossible to determine if any criminal charges are likely, Richardson said.

Information obtained by the Journal last week found that former County Administrator Glenn Breed stepped down after being confronted about the audit by council members in an executive session last month.

Issues with Breed’s supervision of Jeff Caton, who was fired by Breed earlier this year, and issues with contracts issued as part of the recreation department’s ambitious building program are at the root of the investigation sources with knowledge of the audit’s preliminary findings have told the Journal.

County Councilman Roger Nutt confirmed the accuracy of the information.

He was also able to confirm documents from 2008 and prior were destroyed at the recreation department. Also, there are some documents from 2009 missing.

County officials announced this week the opening of the Tyger River Park will be delayed until after substantial construction is finished.

Nutt said the delay is not related to the problems uncovered by the audit.

Rather, he said, it was a decision reached by the new recreation department management in consultation with Sossamon Construction.

“There were insurance issues and safety issues involved with hosting a tournament in September while construction was ongoing,” he said. “It was a tough call, but I think it was the right call.”

Substantial completion of the park is scheduled for November, he said.

“The original plan (put forward by Caton) to host a September tournament at the park was ambitious,” he said. “I understand that they wanted to get the park up an running as quickly as possible.”

Tournaments scheduled to be played at Tyger River in the fall will remain in Spartanburg. Spring tournaments are scheduled for the first quarter of 2012.

During a grievance hearing last week Caton claimed his firing was the result of a vendetta by Spartanburg County Councilman David Britt.

The audit results were not discussed in the hearing.

In the hearing, Caton described a tense scene in a hospital waiting room in the wake of the Cleveland Park train wreck. The derailment of the miniature train killed a 6-year-old Gaffney boy and injured 28 others.

Following the hearing last week, Britt (who didn’t attend) said Caton’s statements were not true and an attempt to divert attention away from issues relating to his management of the recreation department.

Councilmen have told the Journal that recreation department morale under Caton was very low and that employees felt stymied and often in fear for their jobs if they questioned Caton’s decisions.

Morale at the department has rebounded under the leadership of Jim Campbell, a former Greenville City assistant administrator, Britt and Nutt have said.

Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright asked SLED to look into the audit report several weeks ago to avoid any conflict of interest that might arise from one county department investigating another.

The audit is being conducted by McAbee, Talbert, Halliday & Co., of Spartanburg, and was ordered in April as council began taking a closer look at the affairs of the now-defunct county parks commission.