Cudahy Manager Chosen for Post in Hermosa Beach

Hermosa Beach officials, who offered the city manager job to Gerald Caton last weekend, say they expect to have him on duty by Feb. 1.

The City Council announced this week that they had unanimously voted to hire Caton, 36, currently city manager in Cudahy.

The terms of Caton’s two-year contract have not been completed, but he said the city initially offered him $65,000 a year. Caton said he now gets a retirement and salary package from Cudahy worth nearly $72,000 a year, and he said Hermosa Beach has agreed to meet that. City officials would not discuss specifics but indicated that they did not expect any problems reaching an agreement.

The Cudahy City Council is “still trying to get me to stay,” Caton said. “I’m talking to them, but my intention is to come to Hermosa.”

Previous Manager Resigned

Caton replaces former Hermosa Beach City Manager Gregory T. Meyer, who resigned in September, saying he would earn more money as a deputy administrator of the Los Angeles Redevelopment Agency. Meyer earned $63,000 a year.

Former Manhattan Beach City Manager Gayle Martin has been serving as interim Hermosa Beach city manager during the recruitment process.

Caton said he must talk to the council members individually before determining what goals and priorities he will pursue. He said he knows that the council wants residential density lowered and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway right of way preserved as open space.

“I really feel very, very strongly that the policy (of the city) must be set by the City Council, not the city manager,” Caton said. “Where I influence the policy is through recommendations.”

Caton was one of 76 applicants from across the country, six of whom--all from California--were interviewed by the council last Saturday, Personnel Administrator Robert Blackwood said.

Caton said he was offered the position on Saturday night, and said he was surprised at how quickly the council acted.

Council members and city officials said they like Caton’s professionalism, attitude and previous experience, especially the fact that he has worked on density issues.

Cudahy is a 1.1-square-mile inland city with about 20,000 residents and is the third most densely populated community in the United States, Caton said. Hermosa Beach, 1.3 square miles, has about 19,400 residents and is the sixth most densely populated city in California.

Cudahy is a poor community and more than 70% of the residents are minorities. The city’s annual budget is $6.5 million and most of the services, such as police and fire, are contracted to other agencies.

Hermosa Beach is a middle- and upper-income community with few minorities. For years the city has had financial problems, but that trend seems to have been reversed. Hermosa Beach currently has a budget of $13 million.

Career Advancement

Caton said the Hermosa Beach position would be a career advancement for him because the city provides all of its services. He currently has a staff of 55, only 27 of which are full-time. In Hermosa Beach, he will have a staff of about 150 full-time employees.

Caton resigned as Cudahy city manager in August, 1985, because of policy disagreements with the council majority about employee supervision and how to oversee a proposed card club. He was rehired one year later after two of the three council members who disagreed with him were ousted in an election.

“I wasn’t forced out,” Caton said of his resignation. The council “wanted me to stay. I was just put in a very awkward position regarding the card club.”

When Caton resigned in 1985, he made $60,000 a year plus benefits. The council agreed to buy out the remaining 10 months of his contract for $78,000.

Eight months later, the new City Council hired him as city clerk--a position that until then was held by the city manager--and director of the city’s redevelopment agency at a yearly salary of $60,000.

He was rehired as city manager in August, 1986.

Hermosa Beach City Councilman Roger Creighton said: “I think the fact that he was away for a year and then welcomed back wholeheartedly and with open arms says something for his ability as an administrator.”

Mayor Pro Tem Jim Rosenberger said Caton “impressed us with his attitude more than anything.” The new city manager described himself in interviews “as a can-do type of guy,” Rosenberger said.

One of the attractions of Hermosa Beach, Caton said, “is that the election is over.” Two new council members were elected last month.

“In Cudahy, we have an election coming up in April, and currently there is a recall attempt on one of my City Council people,” he said.

Caton said many improvements were made during his tenure as Cudahy city manager, including a $14-million shopping center that includes the city’s first supermarket, reduction of potential density in much of the city, establishment of nonprofit social services agency, obtaining of more money for recreational facilities and construction of a 50-unit senior citizens building.

Also, he said, nearly 35% of the buildings along the city’s main street, Atlantic Boulevard, are being replaced or have been rebuilt in the past four years.

The council increased the city staff to help make the improvements possible, he said, adding that he was the city’s only professional staff person when he was hired in 1982.

“That’s one of the reasons that it’s hard for me to leave the city, it’s kind of like my baby,” Caton said.

Cudahy Councilman Tom Thurman said the council would like Caton to remain, but understands that the issue is career advancement, not money.

“My feeling is that it’s going to be a great loss for us, but a great gain for Hermosa Beach,” he said.

Councilman Gabe Zippi, who has disagreed with Caton over the years, said he also is sorry to see him resign.

“I hate to see him go,” he said. “He’s a very well-educated man. . . . Whatever city gets him, I’ll say they’re pretty fortunate.”

Caton is married, has a 15-month-old daughter and lives in Fullerton. He said he plans to eventually move to the South Bay--he hopes to Hermosa Beach.