 VETERAN WATER MANAGER TO LEAD TROUBLED BOARD Miami Herald -- Friday, June 15, 2001 By: Curtis Morgan, Miami Herald Staff Writer No one squabbled over Henry Dean. A day after an acrimonious leadership shake-up, the South Florida Water Management District board gave the hot seat of executive director to the veteran state water manager without finding a single thing to argue about. Dean, the highly regarded head of the St. Johns River Water Management District for the past 17 years, heard nothing but praise Thursday from all parties - environmentalists to farmers - for his political and technical acumen. He received one wry warning from board member Hugh English. "You indicated you had a tough hide, and I think you're going to need it," he said. Dean, 53, assured the board he was ready, willing and able to take on the district's considerable challenges, chief among them managing the state's half of the $7.8-billion Everglades restoration plan and mending the personal and policy disputes that have disrupted the agency that controls the region's water supply and flood control system. "I'm here to tell you that I understand this is hardball down here, not softball. I've got a glove that's the right size to catch the pitches," said Dean, who will start full time in the coming weeks at a yet-to-be set salary he expects will be comparable to the $150,000 a year the district paid former executive Frank Finch. Finch was pressured to resign Wednesday over complaints from some of the nine board members about an aloof management style and his handling of the drought, Everglades restoration and minority hiring policies. The move, intended to promote harmony on a board divided over Finch's performance, only created a wider rift when five members pulled a surprise vote to oust chairman Nicolas Gutierrez, who led the campaign against Finch. Board members, all appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush, shed little new light on their split, but one pointed out they're now aligned in two camps: five with backgrounds in engineering or agriculture, industries with ties to major water users, and four nontechnical members. If anyone can bridge the gap, it could be Dean, who likened the new job, and its oversight of the largest environmental restoration project in history, to playing in the Super Bowl of water management. When Dean took over the St. Johns district, which covers 19 Northeast Florida counties, he faced similar problems on a smaller scale. The governing board was divided and a major project was mired in controversy -- the $200 million restoration of the headwaters of the St. Johns River. Today, both the district and restoration are considered models of success, said Phil Parsons, an attorney for the Florida Sugar Cane League. Parsons represented growers in Indian River and Brevard counties whose lands were targeted for purchase. Parsons said Dean persuaded landowners to cooperate and averted a land war - experience that should serve him well in a district with constant disputes over water among suburbs, farms and nature. "Henry has the relationships in Tallahassee, an understanding of the pressures on the district," said Parsons. "I think he's the best choice they could make." Shannon Estenoz, South Florida director of the World Wildlife Fund, also called the choice encouraging, particularly after months of internal unrest that have board members, state environmental protection chief David Struhs and wildlife groups concerned about delays in critical Everglades projects. "Dean brings a lot of stature and stability to the district, and I think it's exactly what the agency needs," she said. LAW SCHOOL GRAD A graduate of Florida State University law school and former general counsel for the state Department of Natural Resources from 1979 to 1984, Dean quickly won over the board by sticking to basics. Dean, who still speaks with a drawl of his native Texas but moved as a teenager with his family to a farm in Iowa, pitched a folksy but firm sort of staff oversight, which at least sounded like a change from the military-style structure Finch established. PLEDGES HONESTY He pledged honesty, openness, cooperation with the board, and policy advice based on sound science, not personal agendas of individual board members. "I just want tranquility,'' he said. It was a point he repeated several times. While debate and criticism came with the job, Dean said he would urge setting aside differences once the voting was over. "I'm going to say this in the most deferential way I know how. Let's end the debate, then let's go to dinner and be friends," he said. Though his tenure in St. Johns has not been without controversy, there seemed to be few serious skeletons. The latest trouble involved some 1,000 birds, mostly white pelicans, poisoned in Lake Apopka three years ago on farm land the district bought and flooded. A federal report blamed pesticide contamination, which the district was supposed to have detected in the land. While the district initially disputed the findings, Dean said he remained committed to getting to the bottom of mishap. Copyright (c) 2001, The Miami Herald |