Deb Smith recently dusted off the first recreation program guide she created for South Portland residents nearly three decades ago. It had just 15 offerings.

Today, South Portland runs more than 60 recreation programs in 100 sessions yearly at its busy Community Center, as well as summer youth camps, sports leagues and a preschool that readies children for kindergarten.

Smith – who was laid off last month as the center’s operations manager – had a hand in creating, directing or growing all of them.

“Deb was the spark plug of that agency,” said Cindy Hazelton, director of the Gorham Recreation Department. “The work Deb did is evident from the moment you walk through the front door of the Community Center.”

Public outrage and concern followed the Feb. 24 announcement that Smith and four other veteran city workers lost their jobs in layoffs designed to cut costs and close a projected budget gap for the next fiscal year.

Ed Pearlman, a musician who taught at the community center, described Smith as a “treasure.” Pearlman was among about 50 people who showed up at last week’s City Council meeting to plead with the council to reconsider the layoffs.

A majority of the council supported City Manager Jim Gailey’s decision to make the job cuts. Members say they do not want to interfere with how he runs city government.

But Pearlman told councilors that Smith’s dedication was invaluable. He said she created a seamless process for instructors to offer their services and for residents to sign up and take part.

He and other people who spoke noted that residents are turning to low-cost and free services offered at the community center during these tough economic times.

Pearlman, who had an upcoming appointment with Smith, wondered aloud what he was supposed to do now to get his music course up and running this summer.

Community Center staff members echoed his concerns. “There are (staff) that have yet to have any explanation about what happened,” said Carol Bartlett, a veteran teacher at the center’s preschool.

This week Gailey assured the public that services will be uninterrupted at the community center.

“The Recreation Division is a strong division under the city’s umbrella and has a great group of employees – from the front desk to management – who will continue to provide the best service to the residents of our community,” Gailey said.

He added that “four talented program coordinators” who had worked for Smith will assume some of her duties. Bill Cary, superintendent of recreation, took over the management portion of her position, Gailey wrote in an e-mail.

Gailey said the five positions targeted by layoffs were middle management to spare critical services to the public. But many people who regularly use the Community Center question whether it can run as effectively without Smith’s hands-on management, organizational skills and advocacy.

“Her influence and presence is one that will be highly difficult to replace,” said Robyn Thurber, who was a camp counselor in the summer rec program.

“That building is all about community. It belongs to the community,” said Smith this week.

Smith, who is known for her candor, has had a career behind the scenes building the city’s recreation programs and managing the Community Center since it was built in 2000.

The center and its programs clearly distinguish South Portland among greater Portland communities. No other recreation department packs so many offerings in one location, from dozens of classes, lunches and trips for seniors to vacation camps, sports and other programs for children.

Smith’s job involved supervising the center and staff, developing recreation programs, directing the preschool and overseeing the recreation coordinators. In addition to handling the master schedule at the Community Center, Smith also scheduled events at Wainwright Fields.

When community groups wanted to use the center for a gathering, they called Smith. She processed the financial assistance requests that enabled many families to send children to summer rec camp.

“When someone needed to schedule or do something at our building, I was the person they came to,” said Smith, adding that she worked hard to make the process easy, efficient and convenient for community groups.

Smith said it was her philosophy not to commit to regular meetings with any one particular club or organization, since it would preclude others from having a chance to schedule meetings or gatherings there. Thus, she said, the center became a revolving door for a variety of groups, open to all and beholden to none.

“More than 100 groups used the center each year, from condo associations and youth groups to the school department and organizations for the mentally and physically handicapped,” she said.

Smith said she also looked for ways to improve. She and Hazelton, the Gorham rec director, recently discussed creative ways to share the costs of special programs that individual recreation departments cannot afford on their own. Hazelton mentioned a BMX bike demonstration event that several southern Maine recreation departments hoped to host this summer.

Smith emphasized organization, overseeing the addition of a computer software program that allowed for master scheduling and registration. Smith said she had planned to make an upgrade in the system that would have allowed people to register and pay for classes online.

She believed that automated registration would have enabled use of the Community Center to grow at a steady pace.

Smith said Recreation Director Dana Anderson had endorsed the idea, but then delayed implementing it. She wonders now whether he did not want to automate registration knowing that Smith would not be there to implement it.

Smith has indicated that she does not consider her dismissal as financially driven. Smith has said in interviews that she believes a disagreement she had with Anderson led to the elimination of her post.

Anderson directs Parks, Public Works, Recreation and Libraries. He did not respond to a request for comment and has been silent since the layoffs. Four of the five layoffs involved employees in departments that he runs.

Smith plans to file a report with Gailey outlining her concerns. Smith, who is 54, also said she is considering legal action against the city but declined to comment further.

Smith has worked for Anderson since she was first employed by the city in 1981. Smith grew up in Milo and graduated from the University of Maine at Orono.

She applied to be the city’s recreation coordinator after working at a similar job in Tilton, N.H. She said she felt it was time to find a job in her home state.

As recreation coordinator, she planned programs taught in the schools and at a small brick building that occupied the site where the Community Center is now.

When the center was built in 2000, Anderson asked for one of his managers to run it. Smith eagerly stepped forward and never looked back.

Smith said she believes that for the center to continue to be successful, there needs to be a director “who is present in the building … I was always there and I was visible to people.”

With the sudden loss of her job, Smith lost touch with a daily network of friends, colleagues and associates who knew her from the work she did at the community center.

Smith said she doubts she will ever try to commit herself again to growing a program like she did in South Portland, though she is not ruling it out completely.

Her immediate plans are to dedicate more time to an adult summer camp program she recently started for women over 50.

Outside of her work at the community center, Smith has sponsored a basketball camp that offers older women several days of league play and instruction. The women bunk at Southern Maine Community College, where the dorms are empty in the summer, and get to pursue girlhood dreams that were deferred by social limitations of an earlier era.

“It’s an experience of a lifetime for the women,” Smith said.

Beyond the camp, Smith says she feels confident she will stay in the health and recreation field. “All doors are open. I have organization and people skills,” she said. “I will just put them out there.”

Deb Smith recently dusted off the first recreation program guide she created for South Portland residents nearly three decades ago. It had just 15 offerings.

Today, South Portland runs more than 60 recreation programs in 100 sessions yearly at its busy Community Center, as well as summer youth camps, sports leagues and a preschool that readies children for kindergarten.

Smith – who was laid off last month as the center’s operations manager – had a hand in creating, directing or growing all of them.

“Deb was the spark plug of that agency,” said Cindy Hazelton, director of the Gorham Recreation Department. “The work Deb did is evident from the moment you walk through the front door of the Community Center.”

Public outrage and concern followed the Feb. 24 announcement that Smith and four other veteran city workers lost their jobs in layoffs designed to cut costs and close a projected budget gap for the next fiscal year.

Ed Pearlman, a musician who taught at the community center, described Smith as a “treasure.” Pearlman was among about 50 people who showed up at last week’s City Council meeting to plead with the council to reconsider the layoffs.

A majority of the council supported City Manager Jim Gailey’s decision to make the job cuts. Members say they do not want to interfere with how he runs city government.

But Pearlman told councilors that Smith’s dedication was invaluable. He said she created a seamless process for instructors to offer their services and for residents to sign up and take part.

He and other people who spoke noted that residents are turning to low-cost and free services offered at the community center during these tough economic times.

Pearlman, who had an upcoming appointment with Smith, wondered aloud what he was supposed to do now to get his music course up and running this summer.

Community Center staff members echoed his concerns. “There are (staff) that have yet to have any explanation about what happened,” said Carol Bartlett, a veteran teacher at the center’s preschool.

This week Gailey assured the public that services will be uninterrupted at the community center.

“The Recreation Division is a strong division under the city’s umbrella and has a great group of employees – from the front desk to management – who will continue to provide the best service to the residents of our community,” Gailey said.

He added that “four talented program coordinators” who had worked for Smith will assume some of her duties. Bill Cary, superintendent of recreation, took over the management portion of her position, Gailey wrote in an e-mail.

Gailey said the five positions targeted by layoffs were middle management to spare critical services to the public. But many people who regularly use the Community Center question whether it can run as effectively without Smith’s hands-on management, organizational skills and advocacy.

“Her influence and presence is one that will be highly difficult to replace,” said Robyn Thurber, who was a camp counselor in the summer rec program.

“That building is all about community. It belongs to the community,” said Smith this week.

Smith, who is known for her candor, has had a career behind the scenes building the city’s recreation programs and managing the Community Center since it was built in 2000.

The center and its programs clearly distinguish South Portland among greater Portland communities. No other recreation department packs so many offerings in one location, from dozens of classes, lunches and trips for seniors to vacation camps, sports and other programs for children.

Smith’s job involved supervising the center and staff, developing recreation programs, directing the preschool and overseeing the recreation coordinators. In addition to handling the master schedule at the Community Center, Smith also scheduled events at Wainwright Fields.

When community groups wanted to use the center for a gathering, they called Smith. She processed the financial assistance requests that enabled many families to send children to summer rec camp.

“When someone needed to schedule or do something at our building, I was the person they came to,” said Smith, adding that she worked hard to make the process easy, efficient and convenient for community groups.

Smith said it was her philosophy not to commit to regular meetings with any one particular club or organization, since it would preclude others from having a chance to schedule meetings or gatherings there. Thus, she said, the center became a revolving door for a variety of groups, open to all and beholden to none.

“More than 100 groups used the center each year, from condo associations and youth groups to the school department and organizations for the mentally and physically handicapped,” she said.

Smith said she also looked for ways to improve. She and Hazelton, the Gorham rec director, recently discussed creative ways to share the costs of special programs that individual recreation departments cannot afford on their own. Hazelton mentioned a BMX bike demonstration event that several southern Maine recreation departments hoped to host this summer.

Smith emphasized organization, overseeing the addition of a computer software program that allowed for master scheduling and registration. Smith said she had planned to make an upgrade in the system that would have allowed people to register and pay for classes online.

She believed that automated registration would have enabled use of the Community Center to grow at a steady pace.

Smith said Recreation Director Dana Anderson had endorsed the idea, but then delayed implementing it. She wonders now whether he did not want to automate registration knowing that Smith would not be there to implement it.

Smith has indicated that she does not consider her dismissal as financially driven. Smith has said in interviews that she believes a disagreement she had with Anderson led to the elimination of her post.

Anderson directs Parks, Public Works, Recreation and Libraries. He did not respond to a request for comment and has been silent since the layoffs. Four of the five layoffs involved employees in departments that he runs.

Smith plans to file a report with Gailey outlining her concerns. Smith, who is 54, also said she is considering legal action against the city but declined to comment further.

Smith has worked for Anderson since she was first employed by the city in 1981. Smith grew up in Milo and graduated from the University of Maine at Orono.

She applied to be the city’s recreation coordinator after working at a similar job in Tilton, N.H. She said she felt it was time to find a job in her home state.

As recreation coordinator, she planned programs taught in the schools and at a small brick building that occupied the site where the Community Center is now.

When the center was built in 2000, Anderson asked for one of his managers to run it. Smith eagerly stepped forward and never looked back.

Smith said she believes that for the center to continue to be successful, there needs to be a director “who is present in the building … I was always there and I was visible to people.”

With the sudden loss of her job, Smith lost touch with a daily network of friends, colleagues and associates who knew her from the work she did at the community center.

Smith said she doubts she will ever try to commit herself again to growing a program like she did in South Portland, though she is not ruling it out completely.

Her immediate plans are to dedicate more time to an adult summer camp program she recently started for women over 50.

Outside of her work at the community center, Smith has sponsored a basketball camp that offers older women several days of league play and instruction. The women bunk at Southern Maine Community College, where the dorms are empty in the summer, and get to pursue girlhood dreams that were deferred by social limitations of an earlier era.

“It’s an experience of a lifetime for the women,” Smith said.

Beyond the camp, Smith says she feels confident she will stay in the health and recreation field. “All doors are open. I have organization and people skills,” she said. “I will just put them out there.”