S—storm escalates between city and park board in Galveston

Dan Buckley (left), Marty Fluke (right)

The Daily News
By B. SCOTT McLENDON The Daily News
Apr 20, 2023​​​​​​​

Park Board Chairman Marty Fluke on Monday filed a written complaint asserting Deputy City Manager Dan Buckley had directed a foul word at him during a council workshop meeting Friday morning.

“Dan Buckley was asking Bryson Frazier (park board chief financial officer) for information from the park board regarding Seawolf Park,” according to Fluke’s complaint obtained Thursday by The Daily News.

“I asked Bryson for him and Dan to quiet down,” according to the complaint. “I was trying to listen to the conversation around the table. Dan’s exact response, verbatim, was, ‘I don’t give a shit what you say Marty.’

“I consider this to be disrespectful and inappropriate behavior for a civil servant. Bryson, as a park board employee, reports to me, and this interchange not only undercuts my authority but creates a hostile work environment between city staff and park board staff.

“Let me assure you, the park board does not promote, nor will we tolerate, a hostile work environment. I hope the same assurances can be made by the city for future cooperation.”

Buckley said Thursday he had no reason to doubt Fluke, but didn’t recall making such a statement.

“Quite simply, as I stated, I don’t recall making the statement, but apologized as any professional would so that we can continue advancing our work to ensure management of city assets are done in a professional manner and consistent with the guidance of council,” Buckley wrote in an email to The Daily News.

Fluke’s complaint came on the heels of a controversial quote attributed to Fluke appearing Tuesday in The Daily News.

As City Manager Brian Maxwell was telling council members the city would charge an administrative fee of only 6 percent to manage Seawolf Park, while the park board charges 10 percent, someone in the audience near where Fluke was sitting said “bullshit, bullshit, bullshit.”

Fluke on Monday asserted he had not uttered those words.

The reporter’s written notes from the meeting stated “Marty Fluke says ‘bullshit’ 3X.” Meanwhile, the reporter’s audio recording of the meeting clearly captured the words. The editors, however, were unable to independently determine who had spoken. The newspaper published a correction to that effect.

Fluke didn’t respond to multiple calls seeking comment for this story.

Buckley asserted that Fluke’s complaint illustrated a common theme regarding relations between the two groups.

“It is interesting to note Marty did not immediately take issue with my purported retort,” Buckley wrote.

“In my opinion and that of others, there is a common theme here: Any time I or other staff attempt to question the park board about its management or oversight of city assets, there is a clear attempt to bully, intimidate and misdirect the effort,” Buckley wrote. “I work hard daily for the citizens of Galveston, and if I make a mistake, I own it.”

Maxwell asked the city’s legal department to review the complaint to see what action, if any, would be necessary, he said Thursday.

“Because it’s not an HR complaint, and Dan’s not subject to ethics complaints, I asked the legal department to see if anything needs to be done, but I’ve got an employee denying that it happened,” Maxwell said.

This wouldn’t be the first time park board officials have accused the city staff of something that didn’t occur in the midst of hard questions being posed to the park board, Maxwell said.

Maxwell has never seen this type of behavior from Buckley, but he also never dismisses a complaint, he said. He also finds the timing interesting, saying he hoped Fluke would have reported such an instance the day it happened because he had access to city staff that morning.

The legal department doesn’t really view it as a complaint, Don Glywasky, city attorney, said.

“He’s making a statement that the park board won’t put up with this, which is interesting,” Glywasky said. “I don’t see that anything needs to be done.”

B. Scott McLendon: 409-683-5241; scott.mclendon@galvnews.com