Published
in Rio Linda Elverta News July 21, 2005 - Scroll for other articles
Recreation &
Parks Administrator Quits after two weeks on the job
by Jay O'Brien
Tarry Smith, hired last month by the Rio Linda & Elverta Recreation
and Park District (RLERPD) Board of Directors as District
Administrator, quit after two weeks on the job. Smith resigned without
providing any advance notice.
Smith's letter of resignation said "...I have been presented with an
opportunity that I cannot ignore and did not solicit after I assumed my
duties with the District..."
A quick Google search for Mr. Smith uncovered his recent history of
leaving employers "in the lurch". Retiring in 2004 as Parks and
Recreation Director after ten years with the City of Folsom, Smith
accepted the same position with the City of Fernley, Nevada. Smith was
the first person to hold that job in Fernley.
The Reno Gazette-Journal reported Smith was hired on October 5 and
resigned a week later. Gary Bacock, Fernley's City Manager, said Smith
related that he "was pursuing a better offer, and he also expected more
staff to assist him". "He cited getting a six-figure offer somewhere
else he was pursuing." When he left Fernley, Bacock said there was no
advance notice; Smith resigned and left the same day, calling Bacock at
10:30 PM after a Board meeting.
Smith, however, when asked about Fernley during a telephone interview,
said nothing about a six-figure offer. "I just didn't like it. I just
went there for a little bit and decided it wasn't for me and I had to
be be away from the family. It just didn't work out" Was Smith's
response.
Smith then accepted a position of interim community services director
with the City of Healdsburg. The Healdsburg Tribune reported that he
"resigned after less than two months on the job.." Chet Wystepek,
Healdsburg's City Manager, said Smith was hired to hold the job during
the recruitment process for a permanent employee. "We wanted to keep
him here longer, but he had another committment", said Wystepek.
After Smith was hired in Rio Linda, it was determined that with him at
the helm, the other Park District employees would be prohibited from
joining the Cal-PERS retirement system as planned. It is understood
that agencies who join PERS must include 100% of the employees in the
plan. As a PERS retiree, Smith apparently could not join another PERS
plan. This fact would have thwarted the District's plan to provide
better benefits for District employees by joining PERS.
Your reporter had no trouble finding Smith's history and completing
phone calls the same day with City Managers who confirmed Smith's
employment history. A professional executive search firm could also
have identified this history, and perhaps would not have recommended
Smith for the position.
The Board seems to be repeating its own footsteps in selecting another
administrator.
RLERPD Board Chairman Bob McKenzie, at the July 13 Board meeting,
appointed Directors Loren Monroe and Jeff Bair to an ad hoc committee
tasked with preparing a recommendation on how to proceed, potentially
hiring an interim Administrator to keep the District running while
finding a replacement for Smith. A special board meeting, about the
Administrator position, has been set for Friday, July 22, 7PM at
the Depot Visitor Center.
Lacking a District Administrator, on July 13 the Board decided to ask
their auditing firm to assist in finalizing the District budget, as the
budget must be completed in August.
Maintenance Supervisor Tim Murphy is the senior management employee now
overseeing the duties of the District Administrator and the Recreation
Supervisor. The Recreation Supervisor position is also vacant;
applications for that position were due July 16th.
Published
in Rio Linda Elverta News July 21, 2005 - Scroll for other articles
County to introduce
Community Council
Applicants
Community meeting
Tuesday, July 26
by Jay O'Brien
Sacramento County's Department of Neighborhood Services (DNS) will host
a town hall meeting July 26, 7:30 PM, at the Community Center, 810 Oak
Lane, Rio Linda. This is one of four such meetings DNS is holding
to introduce the residents of four different unincorporated communities
to their potential community council representatives.
Following introductions and opening comments by County Supervisor Roger
Dickinson, audience questions will be presented to council applicants
by a moderator. The session will conclude with an informal
meet-and-greet. Beverages and light snacks will be provided. To submit
a question prior to the meeting, click on the link on the DNS website
at http://www.dns.saccounty.net under "Community Councils".
"These sessions will be an excellent opportunity for residents, County
staff and the Board of Supervisors to hear community council
applicants' hopes, dreams and aspirations for their area," DNS Director
Victor Morrison-Vega said. "Results from these meetings will contribute
to the Board’s final selection of council members."
The community council is designed to bring local control over many
quality-of-life issues facing residents and business owners in the four
communities. The other councils will be formed in Arden Arcade,
Carmichael, and Fair Oaks.
The councils replace existing Community Planning Advisory Councils
(CPAC) in each community; CPACs in other communities are not affected
by the community council program.
As with the Planning Commission, the community council will have
decision-making authority over land-use issues such as cell phone
towers, kennels, private schools and others. Additional
responsibilities include local control of issues currently managed by
the County Zoning Administrator and the Subdivision Review Committee.
These areas of authority were delegated to the council by the Board of
Supervisors. With experience, the councils authority could include
local transportation issues such as parking lots, stop signs and speed
bumps.
As with the Planning Commission, decisions of the community council can
be appealed to the Board following payment of an appeal fee.
During the program's two-year pilot phase, the Department will evaluate
each council's process and progress, and compare the results of
councils with members appointed at-large and those appointed by
district.
Rio Linda/Elverta community council will have five members, appointed
at-large. Applications have been received from Hal Morris, Norma-Lee,
Jim Rogaski, Zachary Arbios and Jeff Bair, according to the DNS
website.
The council will be seated in October.
Published
in Rio Linda Elverta News July 21, 2005 - Scroll for other articles
CPAC winds down
CPAC reunion planned
by Jay O'Brien
The Rio Linda/Elverta Community Planning Advisory Council (CPAC) is
winding down, to be replaced by the new Rio Linda/Elverta Community
Council. The new Community Council, with five members, will assume
final approval authorities for some planning and land-use issues,
replacing the CPAC and assuming functions of the planning commissions.
The next CPAC meeting, on August 9th, will likely be the last meeting
where CPAC reviews land-use proposals.
The CPAC plans a reunion, replacing it's September meeting, inviting
all past CPAC members to participate. CPACs were established in
December 1975, so that includes members who served this community over
a thirty-year span.
A town meeting will be held July 26th, at 7:30 PM in the Community
Center, to introduce the Council candidates to the community. The
first Council meeting is planned to be held in October.
CPAC, at its July 12th meeting, took several actions.
A proposal was approved to subdivide 9.48 acres at the northwest corner
of Elkhorn and Marysville Boulevards into four lots.
A proposal to subdivide 4 acres on the north side of E Street, 300 feet
east of 2nd Street, into two lots, was continued to the August CPAC
meeting to allow the applicant to resolve an access easement
disagreement from 2nd Street and to review an E Street drainage issue.
A proposal to subdivide 0.81 acres immediately west of the Bike trail
on Q Street into 3 lots was approved.
A proposal to divide 4.03 acres into two lots on West 6th Street south
of E Street was continued to the August CPAC meeting to allow the
applicant to respond to questions about permits for observed activities
and for code enforcement to review the use of the property.
A proposed subdivision, creating 25 lots north of O Street and 300 feet
east of 8th Street, was approved.
jump to top of page