WASI management under fire

WASILLA — The former programs development director of Wasilla Area Seniors Inc., is appealing her recent firing by Executive Director Sondra Kaplan, claiming she was let go because she tried to expose alleged mismanagement of grant funds.

Several members of WASI also are up in arms over cutbacks in the Wasilla Senior Center’s fitness program and what they say are “intimidation tactics” by Kaplan to keep them from having a say in how the center operates.

Kaplan said Thursday allegations of grant misappropriations are absurd and that some seniors might be upset with her simply because they don’t want to follow WASI’s bylaws.

“Some seniors are not comfortable with me because I actually hold the line,” Kaplan said. “I make them abide by their own rules.”

Sheila Walker, who worked under Kaplan for two years until she was terminated Oct. 27, said Wednesday when reached at home that she believes she was fired for being a whistle blower.

Kaplan said she couldn’t discuss Walker’s termination and that all WASI employees are bound by a confidentiality agreement when they’re hired, preventing them from talking about WASI business to outsiders — even after they no longer work there.

That didn’t stop Walker from giving her side of the story, however.

“Previous to my being let go, I went to the board of directors, specifically to Board President Mary Sears and Vice President Katie Carney, and I talked to them for four hours about things being done wrong at the Wasilla Senior Center,” said Walker, who has 15 years of experience in grant writing and has managed various kinds of non-profit organizations in the Valley. “Their immediate response was that they wanted to hire a mediator to work with Kaplan and me to see if we could come to a resolution about the management of the center.”

Walker said she was told they would need two weeks to find a mediator. The day after the mediation was supposed to take place, however, Kaplan pulled her into her office and told her she was terminated.

“They had gone through none of the process in the personnel manual. She didn’t follow any of the process for disciplinary action,” Walker said. “And I had stellar evaluations. She didn’t give me a reason for firing me, but later said it was because I was ‘passively resistant’ and I wasn’t eligible for rehire.”

Walker said she’d told Sears and Carney that Kaplan had repeatedly asked her to charge items against grant funds that were not appropriate and that she had refused to do it.

“If she wanted to buy a bookcase for her office, for instance, she would say to just put the charge on the nutrition grant or whatever,” Walker said. “Grant funds are to be spent on very specific items and it’s illegal to use the funds any other way. But this went on for eight months. There was a steady stream of this kind of stuff and I wouldn’t do it.”

When asked about Walker’s allegations Thursday, Kaplan said none of it was true.

“Why would I do something like that?” Kaplan said. “I have not asked anyone to use grant funds inappropriately. We do things right, to the best of our ability.”

Kaplan, who emphasized she has 30 years of non-profit experience under her belt, said she worries that the negativity surrounding these recent allegations will harm the good work being done at the Senior Center, such as the Meals on Wheels program and the “Feed-A-Senior-For-A-Day Phone-A-Thon” effort currently under way.

“We’re really nice people over here and we really do want to do the service of taking care of our seniors,” Kaplan said. “I’m not the ogre they’re making me out to be.”

But some seniors are not convinced.

Disabled seniors John Latta, Jana Mason, and Lois Wier had grown accustomed to using the “Club 50” wellness program several days a week with the guidance of certified fitness expert Karla Atwood – a two-time Alaska bodybuilding champion.

“Karla is so good about working with people who are debilitated,” said Wier, who had double knee replacement surgery in July and has to be on a special exercise program. “She’s really making a difference in a lot of people’s lives.”

She and the others using the fitness center were encouraged by news of a $135,000 grant from the Mat-Su Health Foundation for the fitness program, she said.

Suddenly, however, the gym doors were shuttered without prior notice and Atwood’s assistant was fired.

“Before we even got any of that money, Sondra told Karla she couldn’t have any of the money because she needed to use it in other places,” Wier said. “Sheila told her that was illegal. Next thing we know, Karla’s assistant is fired, Sheila is fired and Karla is being threatened with being fired if she talks to the newspaper.”

Although Atwood would not return phone calls for this story, Walker confirmed Kaplan made those threats to Atwood.

Kaplan said she merely reminded Atwood of the confidentiality agreement she signed when she was hired.

“Miss Atwood is doing a wonderful job for us,” Kaplan said.

Kaplan said she was forced to cut the fitness center hours in half because of a financial shortfall.

“Because of previous management running that area, it was not developed correctly,” Kaplan explained of the $135,000 grant. “If you start in the hole and don’t fix the problem, it just gets worse.”

Kaplan said she is prepared to get an earful at next Monday night’s Wasilla Council Meeting when several disgruntled seniors plan on addressing the council on their concerns over the center and the way Kaplan is managing it.

The council will discuss whether to award WASI a $36,000 grant for its food program.

Councilwoman Diane Woodruff, an accountant by trade, said Tuesday she’s been contacted by several seniors recently and is interested in getting to the bottom of it.

“It sounds like there’s a history of poor communication between the administrators and the board and the residents,” Woodruff said. “I know when I walk into the senior center and I see that you can only talk to the office staff through Plexiglas, something’s not right there.”

Contact K.T. McKee at kate.mckee@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.