Gerry Logan will step down at the end of the month from his position as Starkville Parks and Recreation executive director, Mayor Lynn Spruill announced Friday.
Logan’s last day will be March 30, and he has accepted a position as Mississippi sales representative with MUSCO Sports Lighting, according to his letter of resignation he submitted to the city on Feb. 27.
“Family comes first, and it is because of them that I have decided to take on a new challenge,” he wrote in the letter.
Logan was chosen as executive director in July 2018 and previously served as director of recreation and sports. He replaced Herman Peters, who lost his job after he and four other parks employees were arrested for embezzling from the department. Peters later pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to defraud the state.
During Logan’s time as director, the parks department replaced playground equipment at Moncrief and J.L. King parks and unveiled a three-year capital improvement plan for all the city’s parks.
Logan expressed gratitude in his letter to the department staff and credited them for the development of new programs and Starkville’s selection to “host tournaments and events at the highest rate in our history.”
He also said the passage of the additional 1-percent hotel and restaurant tax in June 2019 was “vital to the city’s future success” since it will fund the construction of Cornerstone Park and improvements to existing parks.
Mayor Lynn Spruill praised Logan’s tenure during a board of aldermen work session Friday.
“He has shown us a path forward for much greater success than we’ve had in the past, and I say that because we have made huge improvements in almost all our facilities,” she said.
The board of aldermen will vote Tuesday to advertise for Logan’s successor and to appoint David D’Aquilla as part-time executive director for 20 hours per week until the position is filled.
D’Aquilla is the owner of the recreation consulting service DD Consulting and previously ran the parks department in Gulfport for 28 years. He is currently part of the design team for Cornerstone Park and will be the project manager when construction begins.
D’Aquilla told the Dispatch he has “no desire” to become Starkville’s permanent parks and recreation director.
“I’m just going in on an interim basis to assist the mayor and the city to make sure everything flows the way it needs to flow and give them a little bit of time to find the appropriate director,” he said.
Athletic supervisor William Pochop is also resigning, so D’Aquilla’s “long-term capability” to run the department will be necessary for the foreseeable future, Spruill said at the board of aldermen’s Friday work session.
“I don’t know that we have an alternative in terms of someone who can get out there and do that kind of boots-on-the-ground management,” she said.
Ward 4 Alderman Jason Walker agreed with the suggested appointment.
“I think it’s a good stopgap measure,” he said. “In the process of becoming involved with Cornerstone Park, I think (D’Aquilla has) become fairly engaged and knows about the parks.”
Tess Vrbin was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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