Fargo, N.D (NewsDakota.com) – In a shocking move Tuesday night, the Executive Director of the Fargo Park District resigned effective immediately.  With no reason given.

Joel Vettel, the former Fargo Police detective and Police spokesperson, turned in his resignation to Fargo Park Board Commissioners during a special meeting at 4pm. Leaving his roughly $160,000 a year salary behind after being on the job nearly 3 years. Vettel took over the Executive Directors position in 2016 after long time director Roger Gress retired. Rusty Papacheck, President of the Board, was asked after the meeting why Vettel resigned… He said he could not discuss the issue and referred all questions back to Joel Vettel.

An interim Director has already been named, Dave Leker. Who is a current employee of the Park District.  He was one of the finalist for the permanent position in 2016.

Around noon today, Joel Vettel did issue a statement on his departure.  Here is a portion of what he had to say:

“I would like to thank the citizens of Fargo for the opportunity to serve as the executive director of the Fargo Park District for the last three years.”

“I stepped into this job with a vision and dream of improving upon our wonderful park district. This was a huge undertaking and I recognize I had huge shoes to fill. I did this job to the best of my ability, but I feel I can no longer continue in the role as executive director. Therefore, I have submitted my resignation to the Park District Commissioners. My family and I have always been huge supporters of the Fargo Park District and will continue to do so. This is a fantastic organization and a wonderful community.”