PORT TOWNSEND — Three months after taking over management of the campus portion of Fort Worden State Park, the public development authority is operating without a general manager and is about to lose its food service contract.
Michael Deighton, who was hired in January after a nationwide search, has been on unpaid personal leave since the beginning of July.
Bon Appetit, which has provided food service at Fort Worden under a contract with Washington State Parks, has given notice that it will close Sept. 2, when the summer season ends.
Deighton’s leave is authorized until the end of the month, but there is no indication as to whether he will return, according to Dave Robison, executive director of the Fort Worden Lifelong Learning Center Public Development Authority.
Robison said there were no performance issues with Deighton and that the leave was taken for “personal family reasons.”
“Mike is a really hard worker, and we appreciate his help during the transition,” Robison said.
If Deighton does not return, Robison said, “we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
Deighton, who is living in Port Townsend, was not available for comment Wednesday.
He was drawing an $85,000-per-year salary with another potential $20,000 in incentives and bonuses.
Deighton’s experience dates back to 1992, according to his resume.
He had worked in a variety of locations but for the past few years had headquartered his operations in Alpharetta, north of Atlanta.
Most recently, he had served as interim general manager for the Ti Kaye Resort and Spa in St. Lucia in the Caribbean.
Before then, he was general manager of Lighthouse Lodge and Cottages on California’s Monterey Peninsula, which is where he heard about the PDA position.
During his career, he has worked in several short-term jobs in the hospitality industry, many of them as a consultant.
Bon Appetit is a national food service company that contracts with several corporate and public clients, according to Rochelle Prather, who has managed the Port Townsend operation for five years.
The receipts have been down over the past few years, but Bon Appetit decided to give the PDA a chance to attract more people.
Even though park lodging has been full, profits have not increased, Prather said, and the decision was made to terminate the contract.
Robison said Wednesday that the PDA was attempting to extend the Bon Appetit contract another month, “but we haven’t made any progress so far.”
Bon Appetit — which manages the contract food service for conferences, the Local Goods Cafe inside the Commons and the Cable House canteen on the beach — operates independently and is not currently subsidized by either the state park system or the PDA, Robison said.
Before the PDA took over management of the campus portion of the park May 1, State Parks kicked in about $14,000 a year.
Prather said that either State Parks or Bon Appetit could have canceled with a month’s notice.
She chose to provide a 60-day lead time for the benefit of both the PDA and the service’s 24 employees.
Prather expects that many of the employees will leave once they can find permanent positions.
“There are a lot of restaurants that are looking for good chefs over the summer, and ours are really good,” she said.
Both the general manager situation and the food service contracts “will be addressed during a series of meetings during the next few days,” Robison said.
The PDA is overseeing the campus portions of the 434-acre park for educational purposes while State Parks continues to manage the camping, beach and recreation areas.
The campus portion of the park includes the Centrum arts organization, the Port Townsend School of Woodworking, the Port Townsend Marine Science Center, Goddard College, Peninsula College and the Coast Artillery Museum.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
