Resident accuses East Grand Forks Parks and Recreation of mishandling bullying, alleges retaliation

A resident accused East Grand Forks Parks and Recreation staff of mishandling bullying, retaliating against families who complained and shielding staff during open forum at the City Council meeting on Feb. 3, 2026.

Matt Hank Slaben, who identified himself at the microphone, said he first raised multiple complaints about parks and recreation last May and that, after the council asked for a third‑party review, the investigator narrowed the matters to four issues. According to Slaben, the investigator's report found "a lot of mistakes" and concluded the department's response was "insufficient." He said SafeSport reviewed some allegations and "found everything in my report to be true" but told him coaching conduct was not within SafeSport's remit and directed him back to the local Parks and Rec office.

Slaben said he was told by City Administrator Reid (last name given in the transcript as Hootenin) that because he had posted complaints on social media he had violated a coaching conduct policy and would no longer be allowed to coach in Parks and Rec programs. "This meeting is being streamed on YouTube, which is considered to most people to be social media," Slaben said, arguing that his public posts were a protected form of speech in this context.

He described what he called evidence that another coach was allowed to continue coaching despite repeated complaints, including emails and tryout scores he said show teams were effectively preset. Slaben said he had exchanged messages and documents with the investigator and with staff, and that the investigator told him some allegations would not be pursued "in order to save time." He accused specific Parks and Rec employees by name in the meeting, saying they "made every attempt to discredit me, lie about me, defame me and retaliate against me."

Slaben also told the council he had been told the investigator gave himself a $20,000 raise and that the council had recently received a raise while taxpayers faced higher property taxes; he said he had spoken with an attorney who believes he may have legal claims but warned of cost and risk.

There was no formal response from Parks and Recreation staff on the record during Slaben's remarks at the meeting. A member of the council interrupted later to warn that any potential litigation should not be discussed in detail at the meeting. Slaben said he is preparing his own written report and supporting documents to send to the council.

The meeting continued with routine business after Slaben's remarks; the council did not take formal action on his allegations during the Feb. 3 meeting.