Local newspaper reports CAT manager's resignation statement

NWAOnline.com

Community Television Manager May Step Down

By Skip Descant

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

FAYETTEVILLE — Kathryn “Sky” Blaylock has threatened to resign her post as director of Fayetteville Community Action Television unless the group’s board of directors retracts what Blaylock calls “defamatory statements” from her employee evaluation.

Blaylock has held the post for seven years.

“Due to my personal, moral and integrity standards, I cannot work for unethical people or organizations,” wrote Blaylock in the opening statement of the letter of resignation she filed with the CAT personnel committee last Tuesday.

The personnel committee met Jan. 19 to review Blaylock’s “job performance standards,” which were given to her in December. At the time, the CAT board made a series of recommendations to Blaylock regarding the management of the CAT staff and the overall operation of the station. Those recommendations have not been made public since the job performance standards are part of Blaylock’s personnel file, which is not a public document.

Board president Dedra Leaf said the board intends to act on the resignation at its February meeting.

It’s not entirely clear what controversy exists between the CAT staff and the board.

“How my staff uses their time; maintains city equipment and meet deadlines is my responsibility as their employer,” Blaylock wrote in her letter. “Any criticism of my staff is welcome and seriously considered, but needs to be directed to me for action to prevent invasion of privacy.

“I implore the Board to reconsider their draconian demands of mine and my staff’s time and allow us to be unfettered and unbound in continuing to provide the level of service this community has become so accustomed to and rightly deserves, at the same level of oversight we had received until now,” she continued.

Internal turbulence at CAT has been ongoing. Longtime CAT board member and president Colleen Pancake resigned Dec. 8, 2009, amid disagreements between her and Blaylock.

The city of Fayetteville has a $93,000 a year contract with Fayetteville Community Access Television to provide public access television services for Fayetteville residents. The money is funded through cable television franchise fees.