Longtime NBex boss ousted as board moves in 'different direction'

The man who helped lead the New Brunswick Provincial Exhibition for close to 12 years says he's no longer its executive director after being told the board of directors wants to take the organization in "a different direction."

Mike Vokey has been executive director since 2011 and helped work out a landmark agreement with the City of Fredericton to see the provincial exhibition remain at its current Smythe Street location, while also allowing for new development on the grounds, including housing and possibly a school.

But on May 18, Vokey said exhibition board chair Rob Kitchen sent an email that said he was being terminated, without cause, effective immediately.

Vokey said he later learned he was being replaced by Jeff McCarthy, who started in the role the following week.

"They just felt that Jeff comes in with his experience, that he wouldn't need ... anybody walking [him] through the transition and he'll step right into the role, so we've decided to go our separate ways."

Vokey's ousting comes months after Horse Racing New Brunswick called on its members to seize control of a horse-racing track on the exhibition grounds, which is expected to be transformed for other uses as part of the new plan.

That call prompted 250 new people to register as members of the exhibition, with the right to vote for new board members at the annual general meeting.

The meeting was supposed to have been held in the spring, but was postponed until fall, Vokey said.

Vokey declined to comment on what direction he thinks the board wants to take, but noted his involvement was key in the exhibition and the City of Fredericton coming together to create the redevelopment plan.

"With my term there, it felt like a lot was accomplished, and now it's up to the the new board and new executive director to go further," Vokey said. "So how that goes, we'll kind of wait and see how it plays out."

He said he was originally planning to retire next March, so his firing prompted an early retirement. He said he's still negotiating with the exhibition's board on the terms of the "closure" of his contract.

The provincial exhibition, formerly known as the Frex, is managed by an executive director under guidance from a board of directors chaired by Kitchen.

While the city owns the property, the exhibition holds a perpetual lease on it and oversees operations at the 31-acre site. It has an indoor exhibit centre and coliseum, horse stables, a horse track and a parking lot with space for 1,000 vehicles.

Up until December 2016, the grounds were home to the Fredericton Raceway, with organized harness-racing events on the track.

The exhibition chose not to renew the raceway's lease as of January 2017, bringing an end to organized horse-racing events in the city.

Despite that, the stables still house horses and owners still use the track to exercise their horses, but that is set to change under the new plan.

"With the decommissioning of the racetrack, a significant portion of the [NBex] Grounds has become available for reconsideration, sparking the imaginations of Frederictonians," says an excerpt of the plan.

Chair has 'passion' for race horses

CBC News asked for an interview with Kitchen about the decision to fire Vokey, but one wasn't granted Monday.

Kitchen's LinkedIn profile says he's a business owner based in Nackawic, N.B., with a passion for race horses.

"My father had racehorses and passed his passion for the animals along to me in my youth," says Kitchen, on his profile.

McCarthy was reached by phone Monday but declined to comment.

City received no notice about change: councillor

The City of Fredericton was given no formal notice about the change in executive directors, said Fredericton Coun. Jason Lejeune, who chairs the city's economic vitality committee.

Lejeune said Vokey was "excellent" to work with when it came to the redevelopment plan.

He said he looks forward to working with the new executive director and isn't concerned there will be efforts by the exhibition to overturn what was already decided in the plan.

"The NBex board has already approved the secondary plan for NBex, which does not contemplate horses being either stored or, let's say, raced on the property," Lejeune said.

Lejeune said the first steps in the redevelopment plan won't happen until a joint committee is formed between the city and the exhibition.

Lejeune said the city requested in April to meet with the board about forming the committee, but hasn't yet heard back from them.