O’Brien County, Iowa — O’Brien County’s campgrounds will be open this weekend for the Memorial Day Holiday weekend, despite the resignations of the four individuals who staffed those campgrounds.
All of the County’s Park Rangers resigned Tuesday, due to what an anonymous source close to the situation told KIWA was a “hostile work environment.”
The O’Brien County Conservation Board met in special session Wednesday evening, with a large crowd on hand. After a closed session, the Board accepted the four men’s resignations, voting to pay out their remaining vacation time and Comp Time.
The Conservation Board also announced that the County’s parks and campgrounds will be open for the Memorial Day weekend, with staffing covered by a combination of contract employees, volunteers and the return of a former summer employee to oversee maintenance activities. The major remaining issue is middle of the night breakdowns.
Our news partner, O’Brien County’s Bell-Times Courier newspaper contributed to this story
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Original post 11:07am, May 26, 2021
O’Brien County, Iowa — The O’Brien County Conservation Board will hold a Special Meeting tonight (Wednesday, May 26th) after all the County’s Park Rangers submitted their resignations Tuesday.
The entire agenda for this meeting revolves around the resignations of Director Brian Schimmer and Rangers Ryan List, Andrew Kathman and Zane Roberts, including a closed session for the acceptance of the resignations and discussion with the men. In addition, the agenda calls for discussion of payout of vacation and Comp Time.
The Conservation Board will also discuss steps for moving forward, including the operation of the campgrounds and the possibility that the campgrounds may have to remain closed this Memorial Day Holiday Weekend.
A source who spoke on condition of anonymity, tells KIWA the four resigned due to what was termed a “hostile work environment” that’s been going on for almost a year.
Wednesday night’s Special Meeting of the O’Brien County Conservation Board will begin at 7:00 at the Prairie Heritage Center, 4931 Yellow Avenue, in extreme southeast O’Brien County.
