Editor’s Update: Late on Tuesday, the ENE learned that Peter Grant had reportedly resigned his position after 11 years as city manager of Cypress, issuing a four-page summary of his accomplishments. ENE has attempted to get official confirmation of the resignation, and sources say his last day was Monday, April 18, Mayor David Burke told ENE that the matter will be on the agenda next Monday, August 25 for official explanation. The Council has been laden with tension since former Director of Public Works Doug Dancs appeared earlier this year saying Grant should be fired for cause, specifically accusing him of “unlawful acts of misconduct.” Neither the Council, it’s legal advisor or Grant has since offered any official explanation of the accusations or a response thereto.
Here is the story of the special closed session that apparently led to the resignation.
On Aug. 11, the Cypress City Council met in yet another special session to evaluate City Manager Peter Grant.
While the full Council does not meet again in regular session until Aug. 25, Mayor David Burke called another special session last week to continue its evaluation of its city manager.
While only three members of the Council appeared at the first special session, including Burke, Mayor Pro-tem Leo Medrano and Council member Kyle Chang, there were four members this week as Council member Bonnie Peat joined the meeting, though sources say she left the meeting early.
Council member Scott Minikus has failed to appear at either meeting, and Burke said one Council member, although not naming Minikus by name, refused to provide availability to inquiring staff members.
City attorney Fred Galante was present along with James E. Brown, an attorney representing Liebert, Cassidy and Whitmore, the Los Angeles Law Firm that performed the investigation that led to a $183,000 settlement for now retired Public Works Manager Douglas Dancs.
The L.A. law firm conducted the investigation regarding Dancs, and perhaps the allegations he made against Grant, though the city refuses to share the documents with the public or City Council members Chang and Medrano, since they were elected after the events were concluded.
Burke said closed session rules prevented him from confirming any actions that have been taken in the special sessions or why the Liebert attorney, and Grant were present. He said cities differ on how they handle city manager evaluation, some with, and some without the manager present.
According to city records, the Liebert, Cassidy and Whitmore law firm has been paid between $100 -200,000 for their work on labor relations law for the Council.
In addition, Burke could not confirm a rumor that there has been a vote in closed session to share the Liebert investigation with Chang and Medrano, a request that was at first denied. They were both elected after the settlement had been paid.
Dancs appeared before the Council in April to suggest Grant should be fired for cause, the impetus for new Council members to suggest they have a right to understand what happened.
While this meeting was similar to the previous closed session meeting, where citizens had their say then left the room, nerves frayed a bit raw when residents gave very specific reasons why they felt Grant no longer deserved the position.
Many of the same residents who appeared at the first special meeting, along with new additional residents, to either support Grant or to oppose his leadership of the city during the Councils ongoing evaluation.
“As a 32-year resident of Cypress, I have seen lots of changes,” said Laura Price. “I personally know many current and former Council members. A successful city depends on a competent city manager,” she said.
“When you look in the dictionary under city manager, Peter Grant’s picture should be there,” said Price. “No other city in southern California comes close to the management we enjoy in Cypress.”
“Pete has made our city very fiscally sound, he has developed a team that has made us happy to live, work and play here in Cypress,” she added.
Pearl Boelter said “I heartily support Peter Grant as our city manager. Over the past few years, I’ve attended city council meetings and I was actually shocked to hear people comment about Cypress not being a good place to live,” she said.
“This isn’t the Cypress I know, I checked the sales tax, the utility tax, our reserves and our budget,” said Boelter. “There is just no comparison between Cypress and our surrounding cities,” she said.
“I join my fellow residents to express my unwavering support for a highly knowledgeable and distinguished city manager,” said resident Esther Poch.
“He has earned widespread recognition and respect,” she said.
“Peter Grant continues to do an award-winning job,” said Glenn Button.
Former Mayors Rob Johnson, Jon Peat, Paulo Morales, Mariellen Yarc and Anne Hertz Mallari were all there again to speak on Grant’s behalf.
Blair Dahl, Vice President of Development for the Goodman Commerce Center said Grant was efficient in dealing with their investment in Cypress.
“Your city manager has been with the city for 11 years and has advised evolving city councils to get to where you sit today,” he said.
“By all measures, it looks like he’s done a solid job. The city has substantial cash reserves, beautiful streets. Staff is efficient. The financial house is not only in order, but it is without fear. What I’ve seen when a city does not have a strong city manager is generally city environment becomes less predictable,” he said.
Things got a bit more heated, however, when several residents showed up this time to give very specific reasons why Grant had failed in his leadership test.
First of all, Paul Kokkinos, another longtime businessman in the city, suggested all of the former and current officials that support Grant were part of a “cabal” that for too long has controlled the direction of the city (Webster dictionary defines a “cabal” as a secret political faction).
“We pay the city manager nearly $500,000 a year in total compensation,” said Kokkinos, “and for that we should accept exemplary service.” “And when a former department head says he witnessed the city manager commit “unlawful acts of misconduct,” that’s less than exemplary service,” said Kokkinos.
“This is not going away,” he said.
“I’m saddened by what’s happened in our local city,” said 60-year resident Tom Moore, who suggested the path taken by the city manager and those who so closely supported his actions are violations of the “morals set in stone by the flag flying over the courthouse.”
“You can’t mention the problems associated with Peter Grant without also highlighting the dubious actions of the people supporting him.,” said Moore.
“His primary supporters, Ms. Yarc, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Morales and Mr. Peat have received tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions,” he said, and “we’re talking about up to between 50 and 100,000 dollars,” he said.
Former Mayor Jon Peat pointed his finger at Moore and shouted, “that’s a lie,” as others grumbled as well before Burke restored order to the meeting.
After rattling off a series of specific problems, Moore said “Mr. Grant is the one line through the problems of the past decade,” said Moore, saying the city spending more than $500,000 to remodel the conference room the residents were in “is serving Mr. Grant, not the residents.”
“In my view, he’s cost the city too much, both financially and the trust he has broken with the residents.”
Ed Kraemer said he has often suggested Grant be fired “because of the idiocy the city has been going through.”
Kraemer said he’s part of a nonpartisan group of citizens examining what’s happened over the past five years, chided Grant for being woefully unprepared for the housing element, calling it “an embarrassment.” Grant has six years to plan and should have had better options, he intimated.
Instead, he said Grant’s lack of vision was responsible for the city essentially trashing the resident approved Town Center program because the Los Alamitos Racecourse acreage was “low hanging fruit.”
Kraemer was especially angry about the Grant recreation strategy, spending millions on projects to transform Lexington and Cypress Arnold parks into what he said amounts to “private fields for sports teams” instead of “community parks.”
A better $70 million strategy would have been to coordinate with the Cypress Elementary School system to simultaneously expand recreation facilities and bolster the educational system, said an agitated Kraemer.
In addition, he chided Grant for “badgering former Council member Frances Marquez for years.”
Burke said while “some people have expressed dismay” at special sessions, he noted that during the tenure of Minikus, the Council held six special sessions, so they are nothing new.
“I just want to dispel any confusion,” he said.
“Unfortunately, one of the reasons I called this meeting was that it became apparent to me that some information from our previous closed session conversations had gotten out,” said Burke.
“And you can imagine that if you’re having confidential conversations and you find out those conversations were not, in fact, confidential, that it may change the nature of the conversations.”
Following the meeting, sources say police were asked to separate some residents from harassing Council members who were trying to get their cars in the parking lot.
The Council is expected to meet again in closed session before their meeting on Aug. 25.