Friday, April 10, 1998 | 10:47 a.m.
Newly appointed interim library director Carl Rowe wasted no time Thursday night in taking control of a district that has been in free-fall for months.
His strong words even earned the praise, perhaps begrudgingly, of some of his most severe critics.
At his first monthly meeting of the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District Board of Trustees, Rowe faced head-on issues raised in a recent report prepared by an independent firm that interviewed about 150 of the district's more than 250 full-time employees.
The report, by Coopers and Lybrand, created a laundry list of problems and perceived problems within a district becoming increasingly bogged down in a seemingly never-ending conflict between the board of directors and staff.
The conflict has led to low morale within the district as well as widespread distrust of the board and former director Darrell Batson, who resigned in January in the midst of the turmoil.
Rowe did not try to whitewash or side-step the issues, but agreed with the essence of the report.
One of those issues was that some board members have interfered with the day-to-day operation of district business.
"If one of you oversteps your authority I will speak to you," Rowe said. "I have no problem at all bringing up the subject with you."
He noted that individual board members have no direct power over the staff and they should not attempt to exert any power, though as a board the members do have power over the director and the director has the power over employees.
Rowe made it clear to both staff and the board that he was the intermediary between the two -- if any member of either group has a problem they are to go through him.
Staff, he said, should first take up problems with their supervisors.
Rowe, who is employed by the firm of Fair, Anderson and Langerman, will be involved in the search for a new district director.
"This is a $35 million-a-year company with upwards of 500 employees (full- and part-time). The new director needs to have the assertiveness to talk to the board and to the staff."
Rowe blamed much of the district's problems on Batson, who disgruntled employees said lacked leadership ability and tended to be the tool of members of the board who had stronger personalities and controlled him.
He said the former director was not keeping people informed, which lead to rumors and mistrust among staff and kept the board members in the dark about their complaints.
"None of us want to deal with a director who doesn't keep us informed about the staff," board member Linda Dougan said.
"It has happened," Rowe said, "and it happened for too long. But when you began to understand you weren't getting what (information) you needed, you acted.
"There is plenty of evidence to me the board was not being kept apprised. It also is very clear to me the staff was not being kept apprised. I don't know if that was by design or not, but it had a devastating effect.
"At this level, you expect a certain caliber of person to be director. Sometimes you get bamboozled."
Rowe said one of his main focuses will be on getting the lines of communication open and keeping them open.
He said he may go back to sending a newsletter to employees, a long-standing publication that was stopped in recent years.
"We will have more complete communication," he said. "It is the responsibility of the library administrator to communicate to employees actions taken by the board."
Rowe said several problems outlined in the report will be resolved when the new union is up and running.
Other problems will be resolved through open communications.
"A number of the problems are administrative and have nothing to do with the board," Rowe said.
He said the report made it clear that even though morale among district employees was low it is not so low that the staff has not been able to do an effective job.
"There's not one bit of evidence that the public has not been served (during the turmoil), which leads me to believe the problems will be easily resolved," Rowe said.
One skeptical staff member liked what Rowe said, but wants to wait and see if he can follow through with decisive action.
"He can talk the talk," said the employee, "but can he walk the walk?"
Teamsters Union representative Gary Maugher said by and large staff members have a "positive reaction" to Rowe.
Former director, Charles Hunsberger, who was replaced by Batson five years ago, also liked what Rowe said.
"I appreciate your comments," Hunsberger said during a public comment period. "I know I've been hard on you, but I appreciate the work you are doing."
Hunsberger has been one of the more outspoken critics of the board and the district's leadership.
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