Haines Borough manager David Sosa’s top choice for the new community and economic development director has turned down the job offer.
Sosa emailed assembly members Saturday to tell them Darsie Culbeck had “decided that it is not in his best interests to accept the position.”
The borough plans to re-advertise the position and “expand the search in hopes of finding a suitable applicant,” Sosa said.
“I am currently in the process of scoping out a plan for conducting a new search,” he said.
There will be no changes to the job description, requirements or $62,000 annual salary, Sosa said.
The position’s job description includes supervising the pool, tourism and community youth development departments. Other elements are “community and business outreach,” “special projects coordination and management,” “grant writing and administration,” “state and federal representation, advocacy and communication,” and “public relations.”
In an interview Tuesday, Culbeck said he decided not to take the job because of the public scrutiny he has faced both as a former employee of the borough and candidate for the community and economic development director position.
“Being a public figure in Haines comes with a lot of criticism and negative energy, and I didn’t really want to keep being there. It’s a tough place to be, and I recognize that comes with the job, but sometimes you have to recognize that that’s not the best thing for you,” Culbeck said.
The pressure was also taking a toll on his family, Culbeck said. “I’m quite sad to make this decision, but it was the right thing to do for me and the family.”
Culbeck said a recent editorial in the Chilkat Valley News about the hire also factored into his decision. The editorial questioned the need for the position, the choice of Culbeck as the most qualified candidate and Culbeck’s objectivity toward his summertime employer Constantine Metal Resources, calling them “a pretty big pill to swallow.”
Culbeck, whose job as executive assistant to the manager ended in May, proposed in January that the borough change his job responsibilities to better reflect the work he was doing. He also asked for his title be changed to community and economic development director.
When the assembly decided to eliminate the executive assistant to the manager position and replace it with a new community and economic development director job, Culbeck applied and was selected by a hiring committee over the only other available candidate.
The issue of negative public scrutiny and attention was on his mind when he applied for the job, Culbeck said, but the hiring process is what reminded him of how much he disliked it.
“Going through the process kind of reminded me of the public side of that,” Culbeck said. “Maybe I had perhaps forgotten a little bit during the summer.”
Culbeck is currently working as camp manager for Constantine until the beginning of October. He has held the seasonal position for the mineral exploration company since 2009.
Negotiations with the borough had nothing to do with his decision to turn down the job, Culbeck said.
“The offer was completely fair from the borough; no issues there,” he said. “And this is not about choosing Constantine over the borough. It’s really about deciding whether I could handle the public in Haines.”
Culbeck said he doesn’t know what work he will pursue after his Constantine job ends in two weeks. “I’m not sure what’s next.”
Several projects Culbeck previously worked on – the wood pellet boilers, sauna, sledding hill and Picture Point Wayside – will have to continue on without him.
“I’m bummed, because I was really excited about a lot of the projects we were moving forward,” he said.
Before becoming executive assistant to the manager, Culbeck worked as a consultant for the borough from 2011-2012. Whether or not he might return to the borough in that capacity hasn’t been discussed, he said.
“It’s not something I’ve considered, and I don’t know if the manager considered it, either,” Culbeck said.
Just because he isn’t working as community and economic development director, that doesn’t mean Culbeck is going to stop working on issues he is passionate about.
“I’ve been here 25 years and put lots of energy into the town,” he said. “I fully expect to continue to put positive energy into our community.”
Mayor Stephanie Scott said she was sorry to learn Culbeck had rejected the job. “I was looking forward to working with him” if re-elected, she said.