With officials refusing to comment and an acting director in place, questions intensify regarding Rocky Houston

By Damian Mann for Ashland.news

A cloud of mystery is hanging over the job status of Rocky Houston, director of the Ashland Parks & Recreation Department.

Amid rumors that he’s been suspended, the city has declined to comment on his employment status.

“I want to follow up and reiterate that our staff are unable to comment on personnel matters,” stated Dorinda Cottle, communications officer for the city of Ashland, in a text Friday.

On Wednesday, Cottle suggested calling Jim Bachman, chair of the Ashland Parks Commission, for information on Houston’s job status.

Bachman stated “no comment” in a text response later Wednesday and referred the question to the Human Resources Department or city manager.

Bachman later stated, “We don’t comment on personnel matters.”

Houston hasn’t responded to emails, nor has an out-of-the office automated email been received, and the parks department referred to Rachel Dials as the acting parks director.

Ashland City Manager Sabrina Cotta said prior to a council meeting Wednesday that the city couldn’t comment on personnel matters.

Houston was hired by the Ashland Parks Commission in September 2024.

He was Clark County, Washington, Parks and Lands Division Manager for three years prior to coming to Ashland.

In recent weeks, Houston has had to fend off complaints, including after announcing the Ashland Rotary International Ice Rink wouldn’t open this season.

The parks department was going through a permitting process to allow the temporary ice rink cover to stay up permanently to save $100,000 a year to avoid the cost of taking it down and putting it up every season.

According to Brandon Goldman, director of Ashland Community Development, the parks department filed a preliminary review of the change of use of the canopy in February.

Planning approval for the review took place in March. The preliminary review was going to be followed up by a permit application to make the cover permanent.

Before submitting the permit application, an engineer certified in Oregon was required to sign off on the change of use. The manufacturer of the canopy had staffing issues and laid off their engineer.

As a result, Goldman said, “The permit application to the city building division is not yet complete.”

Other technical standards need to be met and are subject to review by the Ashland Building Division and Fire

& Rescue Department, according to information from the application filed by the Parks Department.

The fire marshal wants a fuels reduction plan in place since the structure will be in place during fire season, and the ice rink area would be used as parking lot for most of the year.

In anticipation of the permit application, the fire marshal had given temporary approval for the canopy to remain in place until Oct. 15.

Ashland Fire Chief Marshall Rasor said that since the engineering stamp of approval hasn’t been obtained, the parks department was given two options: either take the canopy down or not use it.

“They chose to leave it up,” he said. “Nobody can be under it. It’s blocked off.”

Rasor said the parking area can’t be used for parking until the permit is approved.

“It’s unfortunate, but we can’t have a double standard with our permitting,” Rasor said.

In another situation, Houston ran into concerns from the Parks Commission about a recent presentation to reconfigure Winburn Way.

At its Dec. 3 meeting, the Parks Commission took issue with various aspects of a plan that would create an 8-foot wide pedestrian path that would allow dogs and two 10-foot wide lanes for vehicles with striping to create a buffer with walkers.

Commissioners decided to table the proposal until a Feb. 11 meeting.

Parks Commissioner Justin Adams said during the meeting, “It’s hard to vote on a proposal that we don’t have a good design for.”

At a Dec. 10 Parks Commission meeting, the commissioners took issue with Houston’s proposal for a 10-year strategic plan, saying it was missing major elements.

In a separate situation, Ashland resident Gabe Howe said Houston wrote an email to him on May 30 that an order had been placed to replace a broken backboard from basketball courts at Garfield Park.

After many emails regarding the broken backboard, Howe said he began to get suspicious.

“It smelled fishy to me,” he said.

Howe did a public records request which indicated the backboard had been ordered in June, not prior to May 30 as Houston had indicated.

“He didn’t place the order before June 16,” said Howe, who also said the backboard has since been replaced.

Howe said he filed a conduct complaint with the city about the backboard issue,.

In a Dec. 8 email response to Howe from City Manager Cotta, she said she expected the complaint would be addressed in the next two weeks.

In a Dec. 18 email to Ashland.news, Howe said, “Furthermore, in light of the evidence of Houston’s false statement, the press and city government owe it to the voters to get to the bottom of the mechanics of this ice-rink permitting debacle.”

Howe said he’d known about Houston more than a decade ago during a nepotism scandal involving an Oregon Parks & Recreation Department program.

According to a July 2, 2015, article in The Astorian, “investigators faulted the assistant director and division manager for allowing State Trails Coordinator Rocky Houston to sign hiring paperwork and supervise his daughter, and for approving the purchase of three bicycles and related equipment for Houston and other employees in 2014 which cost the state $8,700.”

Rocky Houston was “authorized to essentially function as (his daughter’s) supervisor,” according to the investigator’s report cited by The Astorian.

A human resources employee did notice Haley Houston was related to Rocky Houston, but she told investigators that Rocky Houston promised he would not supervise his daughter, according to the article.

Reach freelance writer Damian Mann at [email protected].

Dec. 19: Quote corrected to say debacle instead of scandal.

Related stories:

Parks & Rec: Ashland Rotary Centennial Ice Rink won’t open this season (Dec. 11, 2025)

Ashland ice rink might not open this season (Dec. 4, 2025)

Permitting snag delays Ashland Rotary Centennial Ice Rink opening (Nov. 21, 2025)

City’s ice rink to get important updates in coming season (Sept. 18, 2024)

Aging Ashland ice rink infrastructure may have to be replaced, commissioners told (May 2, 2024)

Ice rink issues, parking on Winburn Way through Lithia Park top APRC special meeting agenda Wednesday (May 1, 2024)