Parks and resignation: Miami’s new director quits

Six months after hiring a new director of parks and recreation, the city of Miami is hiring a new director of parks and recreation.

The city has tapped Kevin Kirwin, assistant director of operations for Miami-Dade County Parks, to run a department that oversees more than 100 parks on a $32 million budget. Kirwin takes over for Stanley Motley, who resigned Friday morning as the city moved to fire him.

Motley, who before coming to Miami was director of the Marion Parks District in Illinois, explained when submitting his resignation to City Manager Daniel Alfonso that “due to family health issues I must immediately return to St. Louis.”

Alfonso said he accepted Motley’s resignation, though he’d written a termination letter the previous day and discussions had gone on for weeks about parting ways with the new parks director. He said Motley simply didn’t work well with the team at City Hall.

“Miami, I guess, is a unique place, and he just didn’t fit into the organization,” Alfonso said. “If I made a mistake, and the gentleman didn’t fit, I wanted to correct it as soon as possible.”

Alfonso declined to explain why Motley “didn’t fit.” Motley did not return several phone calls and a text messages.

Alfonso said Kirwin will be hired at a $125,000 salary, the same as Motley. Lara De Souza will be interim director until Kirwin officially takes his new position.

This story was originally published October 15, 2014 at 11:52 AM with the headline "Parks and resignation: Miami’s new director quits."