Submitted by Susan Hardee Steger
May 12, 2015 3:48 p.m.
According to an article in the Nassau County Independent, “Fernandina Beach Mayor Stokes Speculation about City Manager’s Job Status, “Mayor Ed Boner had spoken [Monday] with Gerrity about his job status and that Gerrity is expected to make an announcement soon. I think what it comes down to for him is that there is no way to continue when two people say they don’t support you,” said Boner.”
As reported by Suanne Z. Thamm in the Fernandina Observer, at a May 5, commission meeting, Commissioners Lentz and Poynter spoke of performance issues “citing Gerrity’s alleged failure to move in a timely manner on FBCC direction with respect to issues ranging from unrest in the Fire Department, to hiring an airport manager, downtown issues involving CSX (“sidewalk to nowhere,” waterfront park proposed parking along railroad right of way, opening Alachua Street rail crossing) and overall leadership issues.”
When Gerrity was contacted by the Fernandina Observer today and asked if he had any comments regarding resignation rumors, he responded, “No, not really.” After further questioning Gerrity said, “Whatever I decide to do will be in the best interest of the municipality. We’ll see what happens over the weekend and where my mind is at.”
Gerrity said he may not even make an announcement at the upcoming Tuesday, May 19, regular meeting of the city commission.
What’s he waiting for? Joe’s the only city manager to have a deputy assisting him. He doesn’t have the management of the golf course or the marina to worry about. But he still is getting nothing done. He and his deputy draw some $200,00 plus in salary yet still manage to procrastinate on issues that must be dealt with. Some people like this tactic as it means nothing in FB changes. Perhaps it’s time for some positive change here in our little piece of heaven.
I’m tired of every new city commission coming in and getting rid of the city manager. We finally have someone who understands our community and is moving us forward. Two commissioners express concerns and Joe has to go? That’s nonsense. Let’s work together to build on the progress we have made. I want Joe to stay right where he is.
Totally agree. When we can’t keep a City Manager in place any longer than we do, it’s time to check out why. Very convenient scapegoat position! Commission not doing well, blame the City Manager! Joe, please stay where you are.
Look, We’ve all been spanked sometime in our life, It always hurts more when your an adult, and in a public forum. If Joe can suppress his ego, which we all have, and focus on the task at hand, It could be a win/win. I personally feel Joe Gerrity has the tools needed to move this community forward. His biggest problem, He’s too nice a guy, doesn’t want to step on his old friends toes. He has a lot of them in this Town, most who have a vision of this town in the 60’s. They’re the ones that hired Joe to his position during the last regime. I don’t feel it’s the end of the line for Joe. How many times do we change City Managers? Come on everybody grow up. We can figure this out, and move forward with Joe at the helm.
Wow. A blog post about a blog post about speculation. Keepin’ it classy as always FO. And, of all the dozens of photos you have taken of Mr. Gerrity over the last 3 years and the official head shots that are publicly available, you snap and publish a photo of him in a moment of reflection while he receives a tongue lashing? How very polite and considerate of you. At least you’re consistent; always showing who you favor by the photos you choose to publish.
It appears that Mr Boner is the third vote to fire Gerrity but he doesn’t have backbone enough to say so. He was perfectly content with Joe’s performance until it appears that the tide had shifted the other direction.
IF Gerrity does leave, what kind of person would apply for the job as city manager after last Tuesday’s meeting and then the News Leader headlines? There is no way a qualified, skilled, experienced CM candidate in their right mind would want to come here to work. That leaves unqualified individuals already tossed aside by other municipalities. A few that keep coming up in conversation: Dave Lott, who’s only experience was as the interim. He is a fervent commentator here on the FO, I guess to make sure all the right people don’t forget him. The other possibility I’ve heard mentioned is Cymbor. The now thrice fired city manager mistake we’ve already made. If either of those come back, we are in BIG trouble! Maybe we should just hire Miss Thompson. She seems to know everything about the job from her years of experience as the CM in whatever town she came here from. Slice of heaven? Please. This is our home. Not some fictitious place in the clouds where everyone’s happy and we all get along.
How many CMs have we had in this town in the last twenty years? 5? 6? 7? Maybe, just maybe, it’s not the City Managers fault. Maybe it was the fault of local busy bodies/disgruntled former elected officials/Cymbor devotees who hand fed the talking points to Lentz and Poynter? You can see something a little “out of the Sunshine” occurred as Lentz and Poynter discussed who would ”go first” during the commissioner remarks before they started the verbal lashing (see 0:06 in Item 14 http://fernandinabeachfl.swagit.com/play/05052015-809 ).
What a witch hunt.
Ross, I make frequent comments on issues that are of importance to me and to correct what I believe to be misstatements or factual errors. I try to be objective in my comments and when I express an opinion it is clearly identified as such. I have not commented on this situation but since you have brought my name into the discussion, let’s be clear about your speculation, I have absolutely NO interest for any consideration as an interim or ongoing City Manager. I thoroughly enjoyed the 5 months that I served as Interim CM, but I have a wonderful job at the Federal Reserve Bank and we are closer to our kids and four grandkids. FB will always hold a special place in our heart and lives and we hope to return to FB after retirement and the grandkids become a bit more independent. I hope that Joe can weather this storm and put into place an action plan that will demonstrate his capabilities to manage the city on a day-to-day basis and continue to make FB better and better.
We have never met, but good for you, Dave. Aren’t peoples’ ASSUMPTIONS ridiculous?
Dave, we don’t always agree on the Cities Procedures and Practices. But I gotta tell ya. You are one class act, and I for one wish you were still in the City Government of Fernandina Beach.
Ross,
You address everyone and everything except the whole reason I’m even involved in all of this. The alleged mistreatment and mismanagement of public servants, I was just curious on your stance on that? I would like to know what you think my modus operandi is in this?
“as Lentz and Poynter discussed who would ‘go first’.”
That was the out-of-the-sunshine giveaway.
Kind of gives it away doesn’t it. Word is someone will be filing a sunshine law complaint. Hope for the City it doesn’t come to that. Enough bad press already.
Don’t quit Joe, make them fire you so you will know who was on your side.
I wonder how many people have been around here to see how many bad city managers we have really had. Commissioner Poynter has his own addenda with wanting Alachua Street opened up so his restaurants will have more traffic flow and Commissioner Lentz is so new to politics I am not sure she knows what she wants. While Mr. Gerrity may be a bit slow on things, lawsuits against the city are at an all time low and there are probably more things in the works now than at any time in the recent past. I usually never comment on politics in the city but felt the need to speak out in support Mayor Gerrity. He is doing a good job in my opinion.
Mr. Garvin, common sense tells me if Alachua St is opened, Poynter will lose business. As of now, when you drive down Alachua you come to a dead end. So opening up Alachua would allow folks to continue past one way 3rd street, and bypass both Poynter family businesses, accessing North Front St. If I were the Poynters I’d be fighting the Alachua crossing as I would imagine it will harm their business. I see a benefit for developing the blighted waterfront, and perhaps The Salty Pelican seeing an increase in business. It seems logical to open Alachua, joining Ash as a second Front St access road. I’m not sure what all the fuss is over opening that road. To me, those are the type of infrastructure improvements needed downtown.
P.S.
Not sure where you’ve been, but I hope you’re being facetious about your lawsuit comment. Does impact fees lawsuit, or Robin Marley whistleblower lawsuit ring a bell for you?
I am a 30 year resident of FB,served 20 years on the Airport Advisory Commission(AAC),remain involved with airport issues,and am currently a member of the CRA Advisory Board.I have known Joe since his time on the FBCC, supported and voted for him then and continue to support him now.
During his tenure as Airport Manager,projects such as runway and taxiway rehab,field drainage,lighting improvements,among others have been accomplished and the master plan update is proceeding on schedule.Most significant though is the dramatic improvement in the city/airport relation.I have not seen it this good in the years I have lived here.While many,including City Commissioners have contributed to these better relations,Joe’s management has been an indispensable ingredient.
In my two and a half years on the CRA board,I have been most impressed with city staff support from Joe on down as we on the board strive to provide the Commission with useful and doable recommendations for CRA development.
I do pay attention to city issues and I think city government is operating better than I have previously observed,despite recent issues with the FBFD.I think much of that was a red herring anyhow.
In closing,I was disgusted with the entire sorry spectacle on display at the last meeting.I can only describe what I observed as a coordinated attack on the City Manager.Comm.Poynter was out of control and Comm.Lentz was just plain phony.I do commend Joe for the restraint he displayed throughout the entire dismal performance.
“While I understand the frustration of the commissioners, they are addressing the symptoms, not the problem, which is the failure of the city manager to do the job he was hired to do. He does a great job of raising taxes and fees, and creating new ways to tax our citizens, but that is not a manager’s job. A manager’s job is to allocate a limited amount of resources to best cover the needs of the citizens he serves, not raise taxes and create new fees. Quite frankly, I have never seen anyone have such a crass attitude toward the people who pay his salary. His actions are truly inconceivable to me.”
By Joe Gerrity
Fernandina Beach News Leader, Opinion, 11/07/2011
Prophetic, huh?
Very prophetic indeed. What is more interesting to me is the fact that Gerrity was penning those opinion pieces while he was the Suwannee county manager. Seems as if he was setting himself up for the CM position in Fernandina. That in itself should have raised a red flag of unethical behavior. The irony in that opinion piece kills me. All he does is address the symptoms, never ever does he handle the problems. A perfect example is his dealing with the FBFD issues-he was made aware time after time of the improper actions of the two Chiefs. Each and every thing that was brought to his attention was either swept under the rug, or the employees bringing forth the information were called liars. He lied repeatedly to fire dept employees, and chastised them for going to HR instead of to him with their issues. News flash Mr. Gerrity-you can’t repeatedly lie to people and expect them to confide in you. Commissioner Lentz seems to have lost trust in him. It was a matter of time until his lies and deception caught up to him. You can’t treat people like that and expect to get away with it forever. Remember the golden rule?
My first contact with this man was about two years ago asking for help with the “Sidewalk to Nowhere “. His commnt to me then was “Patience” …his comments over the years have been “Patience, we’re working on it”. It seems as though patience to him means sit back, see what happens and let others do the work! Your job is to get things done!! I’m not saying jump the gun, but waiting years for anything to move forward here is his motto and his way….SLOW, or maybe backwards. It’s time for Joe to go….then, he can take all the time he needs to deal with daily life.
As I like Joe, I think he should not give up. I say this on the condition he sees and understands the need to go forward on these problems that were discussed. Joe is smart enough as a businessman to know the pressure is on him – hopefully he will accept this as a challenge to himself and see it thru. I believe the two sides could work this out and make this a win/win situation. There sometimes is a lack of compromise in dealing with this kind of situation. I also believe that these items are important and need to be dealt with – sooner the better.
Let’s all think about this in a simple and clear cut way….make two columns, column one for the things that Joe has accomplished in his time as C.M. and column two for the things that Joe is still “thinking” about….I’m positive that column two may need a second sheet of paper!
I’ve got a third column. Let’s add up all the things he’s swept under the rug. I’m pretty sure that column wins, hands down. A fire chief assaults a rookie firefighter, while the other chief drunkenly sounds his chief vehicle sirens and yells out “I’m the best chief ever!”. A racial investigation was instigated by the fire chiefs against the department, only to have HR and the city attorney determine the real problem is the lack of experience and leadership of the chiefs. Multiple firefighters resign, and turn in exit interviews detailing the inadequacies of the fire dept administration. One of the best paramedics the department has, according to the fire chief, tries to be terminated by the same fire chief for speaking out at a luncheon organized by the city manager(although the employees in attendance were asked to speak freely, and nothing said in the room would go anywhere). Three off duty firefighters, and four of their friends, were flipped off in a public venue, only to be told by the city manager the events didn’t happen as they saw it. Another investigation was conducted by FBPD into allegations of bullying by the fire chief. This investigation again found major discrepancies in the autocratic leadership of the Chiefs. Multiple accounts of bribery by the chiefs in order to obtain intel on employees that spoke out against the them. The fire chief files a complaint against the city for a hostile work environment, and is rewarded with less responsibility and the same pay. Since November the fire chief has taken off over 400 hours. The list goes on and on and on, and that’s just one dept that has been mismanaged. You should hear about some of the things the waste water employees have told me….