First Step Shelter Board discusses disbanding

April 30-- Apr. 30--DAYTONA BEACH -- First Step Shelter Inc., the nonprofit that's been overseeing development of the 100-bed shelter for adults being built west of Interstate 95, will be without an executive director in a month.

At their meeting Monday evening, First Step Shelter Board members accepted the resignation of Mark Geallis, the executive director they hired 10 months ago. Geallis' last day will be June 1, two months sooner than he had offered to bow out as the agency's head.

The lengthy and blunt discussion about Geallis' short tenure also unleashed board members' frustrations with the limited power and crumbs of information they feel they're getting from the city leaders who set up the board and appointed them.

"We're getting a car without a steering wheel," said board member Chase Tramont.

"I don't know if Mark failed the board or the board failed Mark," said board member Joe Forte, also Holly Hill's city manager. "We still don't know who we are. I thought we were going to have a turnkey building. We didn't sign on for capital projects."

Board member Dwight Selby, an Ormond Beach city commissioner, also said "I didn't sign on for a partially completed building." Selby said he feels like the shelter board is nothing more than an advisory board for the city.

Forte said the board has unexpectedly had major responsibilities heaped on it, and he feels "we're getting backed into a corner." With the shelter slated to open by the end of this year, he's nervous that a plethora of contracts and policies still aren't in place.

Board members decided to hold a special meeting next week to hash out how they want to move forward -- and if they want to move forward.

"I don't know that our board is indispensable," said Tramont, a Port Orange City Council member. "Are we really needed as a board? I'm not convinced."

Board member Bill Hall, South Daytona's mayor, said he walks out of some board meetings "wondering what we did."

"I think it's potentially cataclysmic," Selby said. "I think it could potentially blow up if we don't get back to the original structure."

"If we want to be supportive of homeless needs as a community, we're going to need to get it together," said board member Mike Panaggio.

Mayor Derrick Henry has been heavily involved in the protracted fight to get a shelter built and open, and he said it's been a struggle every step of the way.

"It's been a political nightmare," said Henry, who serves as president of the First Step Shelter Board.

But Henry said the board can "be as relevant as we decide to be."

Geallis submitted a letter of resignation last week offering to work another 90 days to help with the transition to new leadership, but some board members discussed making his departure immediate. Ultimately though the unanimous decision was to retain Geallis 30 days with pay and immediately begin the process of looking for a successor.

"I would really like to stay and help through any transition," Geallis told board members. "This project means a lot to me, as do the homeless in this community. I don't want to leave it hanging."

Geallis said there's a lot more to his responsibilities than fundraising, and it's crucial to have someone at the helm.

"There is a huge gap between what the city of Daytona Beach is doing and what this body is obligated to provide Catholic Charities," he said, referring to the agency that will run the shelter when it opens.

At a few points during Monday's meeting, which was attended by leaders of a few local agencies that help the homeless, Geallis candidly unloaded.

"I still wish we had a lease (with the city) and we knew who we are," he said. "That makes fundraising an impossibility."

Geallis has complained for months that he doesn't know what First Step is paying for and what the city, which owns the shelter land and building, will pay for. Henry said some of Geallis' frustrations are "certainly understandable." But he said Geallis didn't need a finalized and signed lease to raise money.

"You lack some of the political maneuvering," Henry said.

After the meeting, Geallis said three main things led to his decision to step down. One was his belief that the "rules were changed" in December on $900,000 in shelter funds that Geallis thought could be tapped for furniture and equipment, but was told was mostly reserved for operating costs after the shelter opens.

He said that suddenly put him under the gun to raise a huge amount of money. The third fatal blow he said was Catholic Charities wanting everyone interested in turning to the shelter for help to first undergo a background check at the police department.

"Taking a mentally ill person to the police department means they won't come," Geallis said. "You're closing the door to people who need the help the most."

He said he hopes his parting words and unexpected exit are "a wake-up call" and "a catalyst for change."

Geallis also mentioned during the meeting that he was taken aback by some Daytona Beach city commissioners who "spoke negatively" about him at a recent meeting, and he "lost some sizzle" in his drive to do presentations and raise funds. Henry found that reaction unacceptable.

"You basically had a meltdown," Henry said. "That doesn't work for me. We take beat downs for very little pay."

Money has been an ongoing challenge for the shelter project since it was first conceived several years ago. One of Geallis' chief duties was to raise money for operating costs, but board members have watched shelter funds steadily decline.

Geallis said he raised $82,000 this year, but it wasn't enough to keep up with bills and board members' expectations.

The shelter operation had more than $1 million in its accounts last year, but that has dwindled to a current fund balance of $965,000. The nonprofit has been raising an average of $6,000-$7,000 per month and spending about $15,000 monthly on the salaries and benefits of Geallis and two other employees.

On Monday, Geallis had more bad financial news. He got rejections on two grants he had hoped to secure, one for a bus and the other for two onsite mental health counselors. He also got a bid on security cameras and an alarm system of $263,000, way above the $40,000 he had budgeted.

Geallis said he's still not sure if the shelter board or city of Daytona Beach will pay for the cameras and security system. Some board members empathized with Geallis' struggle to raise money and get information out of the city.

"We're 20 points downs and we don't have a ball or a basket," Tramont said.

"And some days our sneakers are blown out," Hall chimed in.

Panaggio said Geallis' successor needs to be "a salesperson" who does a better job of meeting with potential donors and getting people excited about the shelter.

Panaggio said the next executive director also needs to do a better job of using board members' connections and skills to raise money.

"Each of us has influence," said Panaggio, a member of the CEO Business Alliance and CEO of direct-marketing company DME Holdings.

Geallis said he wishes board members could have helped more to get him those meetings, and he said he "repeatedly" asked for that help at meetings and in emails.

"I can't get a meeting with Hyatt," Geallis said, referring to Hyatt Brown, chairman of insurance giant Brown & Brown Inc. "A nonprofit board opens those doors. I don't run in those circles."

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