PHCA’s future in doubt after “hip hop flop”

Founders want attorney general to investigate

By Kevin Milliken, La Prensa Correspondent

One of the original founders of the Perrysburg Heights Community Association (PHCA) is among those who have filed a complaint with the Ohio Attorney General’s office alleging misconduct by the operations director/treasurer of that non-profit organization.

The allegations come just days after a trio of big-name hip-hop artists failed to perform as promoters promised at a Labor Day weekend festival held on the grounds of the Perrysburg Heights Community Center. Naughty by Nature, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, and Coolio were all “expected to appear” by people who bought $20 tickets in advance.
 

It was reported by the Center that Coolio suffered an asthma attack and did not appear. The hip-hop concert also was hampered by a blown transformer, which affected some of its setup of four stages. Power was eventually partially restored, but the day-long concert ended earlier than planned—partially because of a noise curfew enforced by police.

Anita Sánchez-Serda, one of the original PHCA founders and a former board president, read from a prepared statement Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014, at a press conference attended by more than 50 supporters, many of them residents of Perrysburg Heights.

“Mr. Craig’s very suspect ‘cash only’ policy, complete lack of financial accountability and transparency of the Mexican-American and OG BBQ Festival should be investigated for wrongful action,” said Ms. Sánchez-Serda. “This is not how this community does business.”

Perrysburg Township’s police chief has told local media that hip-hop festival organizer Jason Craig estimated the crowd would be in the neighborhood of 10,000 people, so 80 officers from multiple police departments were brought in to keep the crowd safe and secure. The taxpayer cost of that security force is estimated to be between $25,000 and $50,000. According to the police chief, organizers had pledged to pay more than $10,000 of that cost—but it’s unknown whether enough proceeds were realized from the event to honor that pledge. Township and Wood County taxpayers could be left footing that bill.

The hip hop festival was combined with the PHCA’s annual Mexican-American Festival, held the same weekend this year as the MidWest LatinoFest in downtown Toledo, at Promenade Park.

“It’s really ludicrous that he had a hip-hop concert here that’s supposed to be raising funds for the children,” said David Sánchez. “The majority of the music that was supposed to raise money for the children was dropping F-bombs and that has no place at a community center that’s designed to help the children. It should have never happened.”

Control of the community center and PHCA’s board of directors came to a head in the summer of last year when Ms. Sanchez-Serda was forced off the board and her daughter, Stephanie Serda, left under duress as the agency’s executive director. Since then, a Cleveland-area recreation consultant was elected board president and Craig became the operations director at the community center. Members of the Sánchez family claim they have been banned from the center.

“I am angry. These people gathered around me last year wanted me to stand up, fight, and push. I was in mourning. I felt like I lost a child. I committed over 25 years. This is my life,” said Ms. Sánchez-Serda.

“We want Jason Craig and the entire board removed for their actions and we demand a new board in place,” said her brother David Sánchez, to a round of applause from the crowd. “It’s very obvious these people have their own agenda. If the board allowed Jason to make decisions on his own, they all need to be removed. They all need to be gone.”

Roberto Torres, director of the Northwest Ohio Hispanic Chamber, warned then that any attempt to marginalize the Latino community and related PHCA programs would be met with strong resistance.

Ms. Sánchez-Serda stated their effort to remove the current PHCA board and Craig has the backing of the Northwest Ohio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Adelante, Inc., La Prensa newspaper, and other Latino-oriented groups. Adelante representatives attended the press conference and she met with some Latino leaders earlier that same week.

“There were a limited number of students who were eligible for tutoring,” said Ms. Sánchez-Serda. “We have some elementary-age students who are actually having to repeat their grade level at school because they didn’t have the resources available to them.”
 

“He sees that he will be the individual who will profit if we lose this community center,” said Ms. Sánchez-Serda, alleging that Craig owns or has control of 16 properties in the immediate vicinity.

Ms. Sánchez-Serda and others have stated Craig has openly discussed what he would like to see happen to the neighborhood, including his future plans.

“This whole neighborhood is going to become an extended rec center, that he’s going to put a pool in and apartment complexes where people can just tie in to this neighborhood,” alleged Ms. Sánchez-Serda. “He truly believes that what his opportunity will be is that a developer will someday come and he will be a partner and become very rich and leave us all out on the streets.”

“Shame on you, Jason. Shame on you for moving here from Illinois, thinking that you’re better than everybody here,” said Ms. Sánchez-Serda. “This community came together and became a family. Culturally, that’s almost impossible to see back in the ‘50s. “He’s totally destroyed the camaraderie here in this neighborhood,” she said.

The brewing controversy has drawn the attention of Perrysburg Township Trustees, who released a statement over the weekend trying to reassure Perrysburg Heights residents:

“Upon being unexpectedly confronted only weeks in advance of a concert event projected to have thousands of attendees at the Perrysburg Heights Community Center, the most immediate concern of Perrysburg Township government was to ensure the safety of the neighborhood and concert goers. Thanks to intense planning, coordination, and execution by multiple local public safety agencies, the event occurred without significant incident and the most pressing concern was met with unqualified success. Even prior to the event the township trustees were preparing to undertake efforts to address the concerns of the community regarding the Perrysburg Heights Community Association (PHCA).

“The township has been concerned for years with the diminishing financial accountability of the PHCA and growing instability of the PHCA leadership. Perrysburg Township is the owner of and one of the most significant investors in the community center. It is important to distinguish between the community center as a physical facility intended for supporting community programs and the PHCA, which is an organization separate from the center itself.

“The PHCA has operated the community center under a lease for approximately 18 years. The township trustees will not stand by and allow the community center to fail in its mission because the PHCA is unable to sustain a viable organization. The township is reviewing its legal options and intends to act to save the community center for the community. The township trustees remain committed to the long-term success of the community center and the improvement of the Perrysburg Heights community.”n and execution by multiple local public safety agencies, the event occurred without significant incident and the most pressing concern was met with unqualified success. Even prior to the event the Township Trustees were preparing to undertake efforts to address the concerns of the community regarding the Perrysburg Heights Community Association ("PHCA").

The Township has been concerned for years with the diminishing financial accountability of the PHCA and the growing instability of PHCA leadership. Perrysburg Township is the owner of and one of the most significant investors in the Community Center. It is important to distinguish between the Community Center as a physical facility intended for supporting community programs and the PHCA, which is a community organization separate from the Center itself. The PHCA has operated the Community Center under a lease for approximately 18 years. The Township Trustees will not stand by and allow the Community Center to fail in its mission because the PHCA is unable to sustain a viable organization. The Township is reviewing its legal options and intends to act to save the Community Center for the community. The Township Trustees remain committed to the long-term success of the Community Center and improvement of the Perrysburg Heights community."

PERRYSBURG TOWNSHIP TRUSTEES

Craig has not returned calls for comment to address the allegations or whether refunds will be issued to concertgoers.

Craig—the PHCA operations director—told the Bowling Green Sentinel-Tribune that he plans to cover an estimated $35,000 of accrued bills personally by selling rental properties. Craig also was quoted as being “duped” by event organizers who never obtained signed contracts with the headline acts advertised to appear. 

In that same interview, Craig blamed promoter Tim Corser for suspicious dealings and claimed he was not closely involved in the show until just a few weeks before the event.

“I didn’t know what he was doing behind the scenes,” Craig told the Sentinel-Tribune. “Those artists weren’t booked.”

The PHCA operations director stated he did issue some refunds to ticketholders at their request. But he called the situation complicated because of the distribution of free tickets.

 “Clearly I dropped the ball by not keeping my eye on things a lot better,” he admitted to the Sentinel-Tribune.

Jesse Spier, president of the PHCA board of trustees, did release a brief statement: “While the festival did not achieve our financial goals, we will ensure that all of our financial obligations are met. A complete review of the event, including its financial accounting, is being conducted.”
 

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Revised: 09/09/14 19:02:00 -0700.