Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter – News Analyst
June 8, 2016 4:27 p.m.
At its June 7, 2016 Regular Meeting, the Fernandina Beach City Commissioners (FBCC) each provided an oral assessment of the performance of City Manager Dale Martin. The evaluation covered Martin’s first six months on the job and was mandated by his contract. All commissioners with the exception of Commissioner Len Kreger rated Martin as having met or exceeded all requirements. Kreger also rated Martin highly, but identified some areas that needed work. All commissioners commended Martin for exceeding ethical standards in cancelling the Beach BBQ event upon discovering significant financial issues.
Individually commissioners had the option of providing a written evaluation. Kreger wrote an evaluation and submitted it for the record. Kreger said that he found that while Martin exceeded requirements for accountability and ethics, he identified customer relations as an area for improvement. “Sometimes he gets a little overbearing with that, but we have discussed it and are working on it. I do believe that he has the potential to be an outstanding city manager.” Kreger went on to cite as example the recent situation involving the Parks and Recreation Department. “It might not appear to be positive,” Kreger said, “but it is a very positive issue on setting standards and setting the bar for the city, and that’s where we need to go.”
Commissioner Roy Smith said he would just provide a verbal evaluation. In reviewing all the categories listed on the evaluation form, Smith concluded, “We have a real city manager now. Things are moving amazingly well. When the Parks and Rec problem came up, he jumped right on it. I told him when he came here that I wanted to be advised, that I didn’t want any surprises. He lets us know what’s going on and what may pop up. Personally—and I wasn’t on the Commission that hired him—[Martin] more than meets what [the commissioners at the time] thought they were getting. He probably exceeds what they thought. I’m not going to say ‘greatly exceeds’ because it’s only been six months. I’ve always found that you don’t start [evaluating] people at the top, because then there is no further they can go. So I just think he is doing a great job for us, the city should be proud we have him, and I look forward to working with him for many years.”
Commissioner Tim Poynter said, “I think Dale’s done a great job. He came in here and found a lot of issues that he had to start dealing with. He did it; he faced everything. He certainly kept this commission informed. I think moving forward that the city is going to realize that they have a pretty darn good city manager. Six months is pretty early to give a performance review, but kudos so far. You are doing a great job.”
Vice Mayor Robin Lentz echoed many of the previous comments. Lentz agreed with Kreger that it was difficult to look at the competencies listed on the formal appraisal form and evaluate Martin’s performance against that list for his first six months. “Mr. Martin and I had a very nice conversation,” she said, “and he meets all standards while exceeding in some.” Lentz read the form explanation for accountability: makes aggressive commitments and is willing to be judged against them. Trustworthy and unyielding integrity.
Lentz said, “When you cancel an event a couple weeks before it happens for financial accountability, and you take the heat for it, to me that really exceeds my expectations.” Lentz also cited Martin’s holding himself accountable for the inadequate information provided to commissioners in preparation for the first discussion over awarding the bid for the kayak launch. “That means a lot to me,” she said. “I concur with the rest of you and feel very lucky [that we have Martin as a city manager].”
Lentz smiled, turned toward Martin, and continued, “The six month honeymoon is over. You know people now. Let’s get to work. Let’s accomplish these tasks that we’ve set for him. Before my time is up [on the commission], I want to be able to check things off the list because we’ve accomplished them. I think [Martin] is a good leader, and I look forward to working with him.”
Mayor Johnny Miller agreed with Lentz and the other commissioners. “I think we are all echoing the same thing,” he said. “We obviously haven’t discussed any of this among ourselves, so I think you can see that you have unanimous support in all the important areas.”
“Notification is huge,” Miller continued. “You call me or email me amazingly fast, so I don’t have to hear about things from someone else. I usually hear from you first, if something is out there.” Miller also cited the cancellation of the BBQ event, indicating that he had noted to the city manager that he was taking a beating over his decision on social media and in critical emails. Miller said that before he could even finish his sentence, the city manager replied by saying, “Water off my back. It’s fine. This is an important issue, and that’s my job.” Miller said that Martin’s reaction strengthened his appreciation for the job Martin does and how difficult it can be. “And I think you do it with the demeanor and the professionalism that we were looking for in a city manager when we hired you. So thank you.”
“I think you’ve done a fantastic job,” Miller said to Martin, “and it’s no secret that I liked our last city manager as well. I thought that you both had different management styles, and yours has been very effective.”
“So I think we’ve all established that we like our city manager,” Miller concluded. “Good.”
City Manager Dale Martin responded, “I enjoy working with all of you and look forward to the next six months and longer.”
During his remarks at the end of the meeting, Martin sought consensus from the FBCC in moving ahead to engage services of outside auditors to conduct an audit of Parks and Recreation Department operations, events and procedure over the past three years. Martin said that his department would pay for the audit, which he estimated, would not exceed $5,000. Commissioners voiced no objection to this plan.
Editor’s Note: Suanne Z. Thamm is a native of Chautauqua County, NY, who moved to Fernandina Beach from Alexandria,VA, in 1994. As a long time city resident and city watcher, she provides interesting insight into the many issues that impact our city. We are grateful for Suanne’s many contributions to the Fernandina Observer.
As an outsider looking in, my impression of Mr Martin has been very positive in terms of his professionalism and communication. Keep up the good work !
I think that Mr. Martin is a great asset to our community, and I look forward to continuing to work with him to make Fernandina an even better place to call home.
All I can say is “Spot on Mr Martin”!