Wetland director steps down

With her EPC division in danger, Jadell Kerr resigns amid controversy.

By MICHAEL VAN SICKLER
Published July 7, 2007

TAMPA - Jadell Kerr drew raves from bosses during a 15-year career at Hillsborough County's environmental agency, where she rose from a $21, 000 a year entry-level job to the top of the wetlands agency.

But that career ended Friday when Kerr resigned her $116, 000 position at the Environmental Protection Commission amid a campaign by a local developer to abolish the agency's wetlands division.

Last month, commissioners sided with developer Stephen Dibbs and voted to scrap the $2.2-million division that Kerr had helmed since 2002.

Five days later her boss, EPC executive director Richard Garrity, suspended Kerr after she posted comments on a blog that blasted commissioners who oversee the agency.

"These arrogant commissioners have to go, " she wrote on Tampa's Sticks of Fire Web site.

In a four-page agreement she signed Friday afternoon, Kerr agreed not to sue the county. She was paid a severance of $38, 000, about four months pay.

"I love the EPC and the people here, " said Kerr, 50. "It's my professional life's work."

Garrity said Kerr's decision to resign was regrettable, but necessary.

"She's a good manager here, and we'll miss her, " Garrity said. "We had a mutual understanding that a resignation in these circumstances is the best course of action. ... It's my intent to do everything in my power to protect the division."

After Kerr's blog, preserving the division had become more difficult, Garrity said. He plans to unveil a proposal that would salvage the division by coordinating with the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

Both agencies review wetlands, but the county imposes stricter rules, such as protecting wetlands of a half acre or fewer. Garrity wants to combine these two wetland reviews so developers need approval only from one.

In her blog, Kerr implied the water management district was colluding with commissioners to speed the demise of her division. One of the members of the district's governing board, Todd Pressman, is a consultant for Dibbs.

"There is no doubt in my mind that he has brought pressure to bear on the Water Management District, " Kerr wrote.

Garrity said such statements endangered the division's future.

"Part of our future lies in partnerships with other agencies, " Garrity said. "Effectiveness as a manager depends on a number of things. It depends on relationships with others that you do business with."

Kerr's personnel file is filled with glowing evaluations, many of them signed by Garrity.

"You indeed are a great manager and outstanding member of our team, " he wrote in 2005. "I really cannot think of many ways I would want you to change except to excel even more in what you're doing."

Commissioner Rose Ferlita, who voted against eliminating the wetlands division last month, said it was unfortunate Kerr was leaving.

"I'm sorry that the decision by my colleagues led to her getting emotionally involved, " Ferlita said. "Now if the division is saved, we're going to need someone to fill the top position."

Commissioner Mark Sharpe, who also voted against the elimination, said it was wise for Kerr to exit.

"She's been a true champion for wetlands, " he said. "But in the heat of the battle, Jadell might have said some things that complicated our ability to work with other agencies."

Kerr said she regrets what she wrote only if it caused the EPC harm.

"But I do think the public is more aware of what's going on now, " Kerr said. "And that's what I always wanted."

Michael Van Sickler can be reached at mvansickler@sptimes.com or 813 226-3402.

[Last modified July 7, 2007, 00:55:08]