{"id":329666,"date":"2025-10-24T17:36:34","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T17:36:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/329666\/"},"modified":"2025-10-24T17:36:34","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T17:36:34","slug":"cleveland-heights-embattled-cain-park-gm-bows-out-from-city-employment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/329666\/","title":{"rendered":"Cleveland Heights\u2019 embattled Cain Park GM bows out from city employment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"XQLN6OF4AFBLNNRVE5OMURFYHA\">CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio &#8212; The Cain Park amphitheater general manager recently suspended for five days and ordered to take anger management training has officially parted company with the city.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"XEGB5D5VERA4XMZ2DM5CDRYAEM\">A spokeswoman confirmed Wednesday that \u201cIan Hinz is no longer working for the city,\u201d with no further details immediately available on the personnel matter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"4FOIXADV3ZGYZOT6JKNVWH2TXE\">His last day was reportedly Tuesday (Oct. 21).<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"G3OUJSTPE5B3VA2ZXF7IUE5U7Y\">Earlier this year, Hinz served the unpaid suspension following a consultant\u2019s independent investigation of numerous complaints from four Cain Park employees dating back to June 2024.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"YYAO7VNPKNDNFC2P2OQTRPO72M\">These included public temper tantrums and a \u201cpattern of aggressive and intimidating behavior\u201d perhaps summed up best by an exchange with an employee who was ordered at one point to recite &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cleveland.com\/metro\/2025\/04\/my-word-is-law-cain-park-manager-suspended-without-pay-for-bullying-intimidating-employees.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">my word is law<\/a>&#8221; regarding Hinz as his boss.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"26Y54ZU5ONDRFK5S3CAAVNJJ7A\">\u201cAs a result of the investigation, I would recommend significant disciplinary action\u201d by the administration, Clemans Nelson &amp; Associates senior consultant Phil McFarren stated at the conclusion of a 16-page summary in August 2024.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"SLKNYRKCU5CGJARXMSEAMKJRS4\">But the findings sat around under former mayor Kahlil Seren until Cleveland Heights City Administrator Dan Horrigan came on board this January, serving for about two months until his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cleveland.com\/community\/2025\/03\/emails-from-cleveland-heights-city-administrator-dan-horrigan-sheds-more-light-on-resignation.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">abrupt resignation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"MAATX22KNFBPJP224WBJZB4A3Y\">On Jan. 29, Horrigan noted in an email to the city law department that \u201cthere are a number of issues &#8212; including legal, financial and audit-related &#8212; that are under<b> <\/b>current review that<b> <\/b>may or<b> <\/b>may not impact a<b> <\/b>number of operations.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"PNKESPNZUNFDHMN6TGUDS5VLVY\">In addition to concerns about Hinz\u2019 outbursts, City Council has requested a forensic audit to review city finances, including Cain Park, citing a more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cleveland.com\/community\/2025\/09\/cleveland-heights-non-union-workers-finally-get-inflation-adjustments.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">two-year delay<\/a> in getting required 2023 financial reporting to the Ohio Auditor\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"LLIKAPEWABDKVBMMGB4T4PCJYI\">The city also hired Parks and Recreation Director Andres Gonzales after the Clemans Nelson report was issued. He became part of the city review along with Horrigan and Human Resources Assistant Director Tanya Jones in January.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"HBOGZJ5X65EL3P4XDJ25RVBTA4\">On March 26, Hinz, Gonzales and Jones all signed a \u201cLast Chance Agreement\u201d laying out the terms of the disciplinary action, including performance reviews at 30-, 60-, and 90-day intervals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"XQAK35BXENBXNI5WKILBJVTK3E\">Back on Feb. 25, Jones, Horrigan and Gonzales had also recommended a demotion and re-assignment for Hinz. But that did not become part of the last-chance agreement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"USMWXH5OIJDOJPVTNDMI5BULRI\">Hinz still listed his position on the LinkedIn website as Cain Park GM from September 2023 up until this week, also having served as the amphitheater\u2019s operations manager from 2011 to 2016.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"KYM64BQJHZG63CRFJ5Y4JXQXMU\">One employee recounted an incident where he said Hinz ordered him to move some heavy items to the top of the sledding hill for the 2024 Cain Park \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cleveland.com\/community\/2024\/02\/big-brother-concerns-noted-cleveland-heights-renews-contract-for-license-plate-readers.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.cleveland.com\/community\/2024\/02\/big-brother-concerns-noted-cleveland-heights-renews-contract-for-license-plate-readers.html\">Freeze Fest<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"QDJEHL4GUNFVFDNEWJ3ACJFOEM\">When the worker registered health concerns about a heart condition, Hinz reportedly told him that the work was nevertheless part of his job description.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"7IWMB4XK2RDVLGGHJNBJ337JF4\">Several accounts referred to tirades in response to technical difficulties at the concession stand.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"Z5KRPFT4F5G3LNCE722ZVV7474\">Hinz reportedly berated another worker for volunteering her Venmo to process transactions when the computer system crashed at the Trombone Shorty concert in June 2024. <\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"2STLIGKV5BCVLL7YVXUMY6E5RE\">Read more from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cleveland.com\/sunpress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sun Press<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.advancelocal.com\/advancelocalUserAgreement\/user-agreement.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.advancelocal.com\/advancelocalUserAgreement\/privacy-policy.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio &#8212; The Cain Park amphitheater general manager recently suspended for five days and ordered to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":329667,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[64,420,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-329666","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jobs","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-jobs","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115430357977122312","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329666"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329666\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/329667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}