Count on bureaucrats trumping volunteers every time

Much like two notable examples before, it seems to be about control and conflicting personalities.

The University Medical Center of Southern Nevada Foundation, which raised $6.4 million for pediatric programs over 21 years, was booted out in 2006 after Lacy Thomas became the hospital CEO and wanted his own people in. A new foundation exists, but the old volunteers left in disgust.

In 2008, the Friends of Southern Nevada Libraries, which had operated on a handshake agreement with the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District for 37 years, objected when Dan Walter, the library district’s former director, said he wanted a contract and an audit of their books. He also wanted a say over the $300,000 in their coffers.

Today, the Friends exists as an organization for one reason: to sue the lawyer they hired to help them.

Now it’s the Spring Mountain Ranch Docents’ turn.

David Morrow, administrator of the Division of State Parks, wrote the Spring Mountain Ranch Docents on March 2 giving a 30-day notice of termination.

His reasons? The docents don’t undergo background checks, the cost of workers’ compensation coverage, and Spring Mountain Ranch is the only park not under the state’s Volunteer in Parks (VIP) program.

Morrow estimated the state pays about $3,000 a year to cover the cost of workers’ comp insurance for 86 docents, when not all volunteer regularly.

Docent officials told me they would have been happy to pay for workers’ comp and had no objections to background checks, so those seem like nonissues.

Morrow also cited the docents’ “involvement in internal state personnel matters” and “discord among the membership.”

Sounds like the peaceful park 15 miles west of Las Vegas has become a snake pit of infighting.

For 37 years, the docents have made the ranch, which dates back to the 1800s, come alive with vivid descriptions of what occurred there over the years. Actress Vera Krupp, famed owner of the Krupp Diamond, was one of the owners. So was Howard Hughes. The docents also raise money to buy items for the park and help with special events.

The state bought the ranch in 1974, two years after car dealer Fletcher Jones tried to turn it into a housing development.

“I think it’s a control issue,” docent president Noelle Lee said.

Problems between the docents and certain state park personnel started in 2009. That’s when the state wanted a formal contract after all the years the docents had worked without one.

Lee and the group’s secretary, Del Bean, accused Park Interpreter Mandy Keefer of secretly taping at least one docent meeting. They believe the termination of the contract is retaliation for their complaints about Keefer and others.

“What I know for sure, she recorded meetings and she accused me of lying in the minutes,” Bean said.

Keefer declined comment.

Morrow said he knew nothing about the taping accusations and denied the termination was about retaliation.

Morrow estimated the work of the 86 docents can be achieved by adding 25 people to the VIP program, which is the volunteer program, under the state parks’ rule. Docents can apply for those positions, he said.

Lee said the majority of docents voted in favor of suing the state’s Division of State Parks, and Las Vegas attorney Joseph Hong filed a lawsuit in state court Friday to try and block their termination.

Disputes like these three examples at the hospital, libraries and the park create lasting ill will toward the various bureaucracies and discourage volunteerism.

The public will forget it fast enough as long as the ranch remains open every day but Christmas.

The docents, some who have volunteered at Spring Mountain Ranch more than 30 years, won’t forget.

Jane Ann Morrison’s column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Email her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call her at (702) 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/Morrison.