First it was the executive director.
Then it was her assistant.
Now board members are resigning.
The Waukesha Business Improvement District continues to lose those affiliated with its organization that represents the downtown, citing numerous frustrations with the current board leadership.
A few weeks after BID Executive Director Meghan Sprager announced her resignation due to a “hostile work environment” and bullying from board members, two members have now followed her lead as did her assistant, John Ward.
Downtown property owner Christine VanderBloemen announced her resignation from the board last Tuesday after a Special BID Board meeting, where Sprager outlined a timeline of her grievances.
“I’m done,” she said. “The BID Board wants to ignore all of its problems, and I can’t handle it anymore.”
At that meeting, VanderBloemen voted no-confidence in the current BID leadership.
She lost the vote, however, as the BID Board’s leaders survived the no-confidence vote, 9-3. One of the other individuals who voted with VanderBloemen was Jeff Barta, a board member and owner of Nice Ash Cigar Bar in downtown Waukesha.
Like VanderBloemen, Barta has now announced his resignation from the BID. He sent an email to Mayor Jeff Scrima, the Common Council and the BID Board on Friday saying that he will resign this week.
“I can no longer participate with a board in which I have no confidence in the leadership or current direction,” Barta wrote.
Scrima replied stating “we understand your feelings with the entire BID Board and your documented opposition to street closings for Freeman Friday Night Live. Be reminded that the decision making power of the board rests with the majority of the board.”
While Barta in the past has voiced his concerns about street closures for the weekly summer music concerts that closes streets on Friday nights for 18 weeks in the downtown area, he did not take kindly to Scrima’s comment about that.
“The simple truth is this has nothing to do with the street closure issue,” Barta wrote. “It has to do with the conduct of BID Board members and their impact on the board. For you to suggest otherwise is a blatant and transparent attempt to discredit me and others downtown that have come forward with real concerns. I would expect better from the mayor’s office.”
A three-person ad hoc committee that includes Stephen Kassens, BID President Norm Bruce and BID Treasurer Ron Lostetter was formed at last week’s Special BID Board meeting to organize a plan now that the BID’s only two full-time employees have resigned.
They met Friday for the first time and will meet at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the BID Office, 802 N. Grand Ave, once again.
The first BID meeting with the entire Board since all of the resignations will be 7:30 a.m. Sept. 19 at The Rotunda, 235 W. Broadway.