Thorpe calls special Friday morning Antioch Council meeting to appoint new acting city manager, discuss 18 agenda items but might not have quorum
Barbanica says he and Torres-Walker can’t attend open session, Ogorchock can’t attend either, Ebbs says he will confirm; two say they weren’t consulted on meeting time, don’t know who is being considered for appointment
By Allen D. Payton
Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe has called a special meeting for this Friday morning, June 23, 2023 for the council to appoint another acting city manager and discuss, hear public comments and give staff direction on 18 agenda items requested by council members. But three of the council members can’t attend one or both sessions. According to District 2 Councilman Mike Barbanica, he and Mayor Pro Tem Tamisha Torres-Walker will attend the closed session on the acting city manager appointment but not the open session to discuss the 18 items. District 3 Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock is out of town Thursday and Friday at a League of Cities conference as Antioch’s representative and can’t attend either session of Friday’s special meeting. (See agenda)
The meeting will begin at 10 AM with a closed session for the council to appoint an acting city manager to replace current Acting City Manager and Community Development Director Forrest Ebbs who announced, last week, his departure for a position as a Deputy City Manager in Modesto. He said his last day will be July 14. (See related article).
Then at 10:30 AM on Friday, during the open session, the council will discuss the following items, none of which have any details, including which council member requested the item, nor a staff report included. That’s in direct opposition to District 4 Councilwoman Monica Wilson’s complaint about having agenda items without staff reports during the last special council meeting on Tuesday, June 6. That meeting was called by her three council colleagues for which Mayor Lamar Thorpe was absent. (See related article)
Agenda Items for Special Meeting June 23, 2023
They are all listed as discussion item and the recommended action for each is for “the City Council discuss, receive public comments, and provide direction to staff.”
1. UPDATE ON THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT (ARPA) FUNDING
2. CONSIDERATION OF LIGHTING THE PEDESTRIAN CROSSING ON JAMES DONLON BOULEVARD
3. UPDATE ON PARK PERMITTING FEES
4. CONSIDERATION OF A FREE COMMUNITY EVENT AT PREWETT WATER PARK SPONSORED BY THE ANTIOCH POLICE DEPARTMENT
5. UPDATE ON CAMERA INSTALLATION ON CITY STREETS
6. DISCUSSION ITEM: CONSIDERATION OF A PRESENTATION BY WHITE PONY EXPRESS NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION (FOOD RESCUE AND GENERAL STORE)
7. HIGHWAY 4 AND L STREET GRAFFITI ABATEMENT AND CALTRANS COORDINATION
8. POLICE CHIEF ATTENDANCE AT CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS
9. ANTIOCH POLICE DEPARTMENT MANAGEMENT OF OWN FLEET PURCHASING
10. EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER (EOC) UPGRADE AND UPDATE
11. CODE ENFORCEMENT SERVICES FOR THE DELTA FAIR BOULEVARD AREA
12. MORATORIUM ON NEW GAS STATIONS
13. JUST CAUSE EVICTION AND ANTI-TENANT HARRASSMENT ORDINANCE
14. MORATORIUM ON RENT INCREASES AND EVICTIONS
15. PRESENTATION ON CURRENT REPARATION EFFORTS
16. HUMAN RIGHTS AND RACIAL EQUITY COMMISSION
17. REVIEW OF THE CURRENT RENTAL INSPECTION ORDINANCE
18. IMPROVING CONNECTIVITY (WI-FI, INTERNET) FOR NEIGHBORHOODS HARDEST IMPACTED DURING THE PANDEMIC
Questions for Thorpe and Councilmembers
The following questions were sent via email Wednesday night to Thorpe and the other four councilmembers: “Why are you holding another special meeting at a time when most people cannot either attend or watch and give input because they’re at work, this time on a Friday morning?
Are the three of you council members – who called for the last special meeting on setting agendas – willing to refuse to attend and demand the special meeting be held when more members of the public can attend and offer input during public comment on each of the items?
Is this how you think the council meetings should be conducted? Do you not want public input before deciding on appointing another acting city manager and giving direction to city staff on the 18 items you all have requested be placed on the agenda?
Why isn’t there a list of the names of the proposed candidates for the acting city manager appointment included in the agenda so members of the public can offer an educated opinion on who they want you to appoint? Who are you considering? Will it be a current staff member or a retired, professional, former city manager as is done for acting and interim city manager appointments in other cities?”
Three Members Can’t Attend Open Session
“I was never even asked about the time, other than I had to call the city manager, yesterday to find out if we were having a special meeting and if so, when it would be. He told me, ‘yes, it was scheduled for Friday morning at 10 AM’,” District 2 Councilman Mike Barbanica responded. “I also spoke to the city attorney, earlier in the week asking if a special meeting was going to be held. But it hadn’t yet been scheduled.”
“I just spoke to Tamisha and she wasn’t consulted either about the time for the special meeting,” he continued. “Nor were we given a list of potential candidates for the acting city manager appointment. Neither of us will be attending after the closed session.”
“I advised the city manager that I will be leaving after the closed session due to work commitments,” Barbanica added later.
Ogorchock responded Thursday morning with, “The mayor can call his special meetings when he chooses to do so. With that being said I would hope that he would reach out to all council members to see how the time would fit into their schedules. I could have attended a 5:00 p.m. meeting as I will have returned from my policy committee meeting for the League of California Cities.”
“Since we are reviewing the 6-month list and some of the items were requested by me, I feel it is inappropriate to hold a special meeting when one of the council members cannot attend, especially if there will be another appointment of an acting city manager,” she continued. “All council members should have input on who they would want to see hold this position as we did when Director Ebb’s was given the title and responsibilities of Acting City Manager. This item could and should have been put on Tuesday’s agenda, that is only a couple of days to hold off on this item this is not an urgency item.”
Asked again if she had been provided with a list of potential candidates for the acting city manager appointment, either Ogorchock responded, “I’ve not been told anything. I have no idea who is being considered nor do I know who is wanting the additional responsibility of being the next acting city manager. I had no idea this was going to be on the special meeting agenda.”
Ebbs: Acting Manager Appointment Different Than Permanent Hire
Asked why a list of potential candidates for the acting city manager appointment wasn’t provided to the public or all council members, Ebbs said, “It’s considered a personnel interview. A candidate list won’t be provided to the public.”
“The entirety of the issue is discussed in closed session,” he continued. “When you appoint a permanent city manager, cities have a public process. But an acting city manager appointment is under different rules. They can always continue it.”
Ebbs also said he would be confirming with the council members who will and won’t be in attendance.
UPDATE: Ebbs later said he informed the council last week that he will end his time as acting city manager on Friday at 5:00 p.m. as he will be on a vacation over the next two weeks that has been planned since January, but he’ll remain as Community Development Director until July 14.
The meeting begins at 10:00 AM in the Council Chambers at City Hall at 200 H Street in historic, downtown Rivertown, before the council members adjourn into Closed Session. They will return to the chambers for the City Attorney Thomas L. Smith to report out any action they’ve taken including the name of the person they’ve appointed acting city manager, should that occur. The meeting can also be viewed via livestream on the City’s website and on Comcast Cable Channel 24 and AT&T U-verse channel 99.
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