'Done our due diligence': Rincon city manager defends hiring controversial Parks director
Rincon City Manager Jonathan Lynn is opening up after the hiring of Shannon Loper, the former Parks and Recreation Director in Beaufort County, South Carolina, who was terminated from her previous post, according to a document from the County Council of Beaufort County detailing why she was let go.
A press release issued by the City of Rincon reads, “We have done our due diligence in this hiring process and ensure the public that we have full faith in Ms. Loper’s ability to lead our Parks and Recreation Department. Due to awaiting resolution of some outstanding issues in South Carolina, we will begin Ms. Loper’s employment by having her serve as our Interim Director while awaiting that resolution. We fully expect those matters to be resolved in a satisfactory manner and at which time, Ms. Loper would go through the appointment process for the role on a permanent basis.”
Lynn declined to elaborate on what those "outstanding issues" were.
Lynn responded, “We were provided with the supporting documentation regarding what transpired with her previous position. We believe that there lacked a little bit of credibility in what the press put out, versus the actions taken. So, we did our due diligence and came to a consensus that she was the best candidate to move our recreation department forward.”
Lynn said due to legal matters, he could not comment further on the issue.
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The city's press release also stated, “Ms. Loper comes to Rincon highly recommended by her peers and brings her extensive experience and expertise to the role…she has demonstrated exceptional leadership, strategic thinking, and a deep commitment to recreation while providing exceptional services in this area of municipal operations.”
The Savannah Morning News submitted an open records request to Beaufort County asking for all documents pertaining to Loper’s termination. Two of the documents were almost completely redacted, but the records revealed Loper was fired from Beaufort County Park and Leisure Services because of disparaging comments made about a subordinate employee during a recorded phone call that was sent to that employee's voicemail.
According to Lynn, the city had 12-15 qualified applicants and it took roughly 60 days to pick the new hire. Lynn said Loper’s experience is what made her stand out as a candidate and her knowledge in the field will help guide them as they grow in the future.
“The way she has built a department, going from less than three employees to over 100, we see our trajectory being similar to that, so we needed an experienced person to come in and take over. Rincon is not in a place where we have the luxury of having somebody train on the job.”
A meet and greet with Loper was scheduled Jan. 30 and, according to Lynn, only six people showed up.
“The public decided to not show up,” said Lynn. “They would rather be negative ninjas than just actually show up and be part of the process. We did everything we could to have people there.”
Latrice Williams is a general assignment reporter covering Bryan and Effingham County. She can be reached at lwilliams6@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: City Manager defends questionable hire of Parks and Rec Director
