And the former congresswoman and current chairwoman of the Utah Republican Party doesn't think taxpayers - in the form of a multimillion-dollar bond - should either.

"Under no circumstances should the current management be trusted with $34 million in public funds," she said Wednesday.

A one-time public cheerleader of the project, Greene is one of more than a dozen aquarium board members who has left the organization during the past few years.

And, like other former board members who have recently spoken out, she blames Executive Director Brent Andersen for the problems.

She still believes in building an aquarium in the desert but, as a board member in 2004, she had serious concerns about how employees were treated and finances were handled. So she resigned.

"He's [Andersen] gone through a number of board members, lost a number of large donors like me. There comes a point where you say, 'I'm not comfortable with my name being associated with this. I'm not comfortable going to acquaintances asking for money.' '' she said.

Andersen said he "strongly and absolutely disagrees" that he has driven away people - and blamed the news media for wanting to harm his organization. "If somebody wants to say that, like Enid, she doesn't work for me. She doesn't know. The important people are the staff and they don't have any concerns."

The aquarium, which wants $34 million in public funds through a Salt Lake County bond to move from temporary digs in Sandy to a permanent exhibit in Salt Lake City, has suffered an exodus of 10 board members since January.

Some say they left because of Andersen; the current board chairman blames the board's own dysfunction.

In addition, the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office is considering felony and misdemeanor charges against a former accounts-payable clerk, who is accused of forging a check and stealing $4,560 in cash and a co-worker's identity.

The aquarium's internal turmoil doesn't surprise some County Council members. Randy Horiuchi and Joe Hatch said Wednesday they long have heard complaints about the aquarium's operations.

"Other people would say, 'This is a strange institution. It doesn't have the appropriate feel,'" said Hatch, who opposes the aquarium bond. "It all comes back to Mr. Andersen's management style."

Horiuchi said a "number" of people who have donated to the aquarium in the past have expressed concern to him about its operation and direction. "Sometimes a change in leadership or governance can make a difference. It may take a whole new ball club to bring this one home."

Andersen and his supporters, including staffers and board chairman Brad Carroll, say the executive director should stay.

"The aquarium project has moved forward because of me and in spite of very bad board members," Andersen said.

"I wouldn't be here if I thought Brent had poor management or if he didn't have the respect of his employees or if he didn't have the capability to build and run a world-class aquarium," Carroll said.

Carroll and Andersen are the only board members remaining.

To his employees, Andersen has offered to quit.

"To a person, we replied, 'We're not here because you're gone. We're here because of your vision,'" said Cavett Eaton, director of education and programming. "We feel great about the direction things are going. Today, we're as strong and healthy as we've ever been."

Madlyn Runburg, director of operations, said the only dysfunction in the aquarium has been on the board.

She credits Andersen with attracting 200,000 paying visitors to the temporary exhibits, first at The Gateway and now in Sandy. "His management style is so easy. He is the least egotistical person I've ever worked for. I know it sounds trite, but we really are like a family here. It makes all the attacks all the worse."

Greene was once rolled out as the public face of the aquarium and lobbied Salt Lake City politicians on its behalf.

But Greene - whose ex-husband served a prison term for fraud for funneling $2 million of her stockbroker-father's fortune into her congressional campaign in the mid-1990s - became concerned about the aquarium's finances.

She said the organization didn't know its income and expenses on a daily basis and the board wasn't given monthly financial statements.

She described the aquarium operation as amateurish and said Andersen was hostile to change.

She required her family's contribution be used to employ a financial officer, who was hired and subsequently left.

"We were asking for $34 million in public funds. I said we have to have stronger financial reporting in place. There was a lack of professionalism, a lack of timeliness, a lack of detail," she said.

While progress was being made on the accounting side, Greene was disturbed at Andersen's treatment of employees.

"It was always, blame the employee. They weren't loyal. They weren't stepping up," she said.

Greene recalled Andersen getting frustrated that an employee couldn't find someone to donate an oceangoing research vessel. "I found that ridiculous," she said.

Greene noted an outside consultant recommended he change his management style, but the suggestions were ignored.

Andersen said he never received a copy of the report.

Carroll said he found Greene's discouragement of public funding "sort of weird" because the aquarium received a check from her in December for $50,000 that will help build seven new exhibits this summer.

"There's just this personal resentment to try and discredit Brent. I don't understand why somebody would do that," Carroll said.

Greene said the recent donation simply fulfilled a prior commitment. She said she may donate again - but only when the aquarium is proven viable. While Greene said that would take Andersen's departure, she later clarified that the project could work if he changed his treatment of employees and the board.

"They need a stable board. They need stable management with professional experience and attitudes. Then I think we should build it."

hmay@sltrib.com

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* LINDA FANTIN contributed to this report.