The center had 600 members two years ago and now has 2,790 members, Rodgers said last week during a meeting with members and residents.
But now Central Connections is searching for an interim executive director at the same time Middletown police are investigating possible criminal charges for theft against Rodgers and events are being cancelled after about 50 of the 70 employees were fired or laid off.
On Thursday, the board announced it had terminated Rodgers’ contract, according to Rick Fishbaugh, board president. She was fired “for cause,” he said. “That’s all I can give you.”
When asked Rodgers’ salary, Fishbaugh refused to answer.
Rodgers and her attorney, Tyrone Borger, were scheduled to meet with Middletown detectives on Friday, but they failed to show, Police Chief David Birk told the Journal-News. He said detectives are continuing to investigate any potential crimes committed by Rodgers. He said the department may request assistance from the Butler County Sheriff’s Office due to the nature of the potential white-collar crimes.
An investigation was opened about a month and a half ago when Rodgers filed a vandalism report concerning an employee, according to Sgt. Earl Nelson.
“Things went from there,” Nelson said. He said the allegation against the employee was investigated and no charges were filed.
As of Monday, no charges have been filed against Rodgers. The Journal-News reached out to her attorney, but received no response.
Nelson said Rodgers has a criminal history in California, one of the states she lived before moving to Ohio.
“We have been looking at this for a while, I know people thought we weren’t, but we were,” Nelson said.
Police also obtained consent to search the property at 3907 Central Ave., said Byron McCauley, the city’s communications manager.
When Rodgers was hired in 2021, part of the process was performing a background check, said Fishbaugh, then a board member. He said the background check was clean, but it only included Ohio.
Rodgers, who oversaw a senior center and worked with the homeless population in Reno, Nev., was interested in moving from the West Coast to be closer to her daughter, Naomi Smith, a Seton Hall graduate who lives in New York, Rodgers told the Journal-News in January 2022.
“That was an error made,” Fishbaugh said when asked about the background check. “In hindsight we all wish we had done better. All of us on the board want to see the center continue.”
Rodgers, who was escorted by police out of the building on Central Avenue on Thursday, was unavailable for comment.
Due to recent media coverage in the Journal-News, Fishbaugh said the center where “funding is a big part” is seeing people and organizations shying away from promised donations.
Employees will be paid on Tuesday, as promised, according to Fishbaugh.
“We are reviewing where we are at,” said Fishbaugh, who earlier told the Journal-News the center may file for bankruptcy.
The Central Connections café was closed Saturday because several servers called off sick, Fishbaugh said. The center also has cancelled its Rolling Through The Decades Music Festival/Car Show scheduled for Aug. 5 due to recent employee layoffs that left the center with “insufficient staff to cover this event,” according to its Facebook page.
Fishbaugh said the goal is to have at least one board member at the center at all times.
On July 25, about 75 people packed the cafeteria to meet with Rodgers and Fishbaugh.
Those who spoke were upset that Central Connections no longer has a contract with Council on Aging of Southwestern Ohio to provide home-delivered meals and other social services to seniors.
Fishbaugh said the center was serving 4,000 to 5,000 meals a week and losing about $1 per meal. He said the three-year contract with Council on Aging was set to expire this year. He said the center profited off the contract the first year, broke even the second year and was losing money this year.
Plus, he said, the cost of fuel also drove up the price of delivering the meals.
Central Connections stopped delivering meals on July 25, one day after laying off 50 employees. Since then, First Presbyterian Church, 2910 Central Ave., has provided meals for seniors, said Paula Smith, director of communications for the Council on Aging.
She said the church will provide congregate meals from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The plan is for COA to find a permanent place for the meals to be served within a few weeks, Smith said.
Partners in Prime, Meals on Wheels Southwestern Ohio and Warren County Community Services have stepped in to cover all home-delivered meals to clients, according to Smith. Meals on Wheels will also provide meals for the seven congregate sites Central Connections previously served, she said.
Smith said COA is working to connect transportation clients and clients receiving supportive services with new providers.
Meanwhile, Fishbaugh said now that the center isn’t affiliated with COA, it will seek another company the center can contract with to provide home-delivered meals. He some of the employees who lost their jobs on July 26 may be rehired if a new contract is signed.
Many of those in attendance blamed Rodgers for the financial troubles at the center. Instead of renovating the center, that money would have been better served caring for the seniors, they said.
