LAGUNA NIGUEL : New City Manager Loves the Challenge

Tim Casey had agreed to become city manager but had not yet signed on the dotted line when he got a tip something was up in Laguna Niguel last month.

The first major controversy to rock Orange County’s newest city was on the verge of erupting. An informant from “a rather distant place” hinted that Casey, then-city manager of Redondo Beach, should reconsider his job options.

The caller “suggested to me I ought to do a little bit of checking around before signing off on the employment agreement,” Casey said.

The controversy involved allegations that Councilman James F. Krembas, while vice president of the Laguna Niguel Community Services District, signed a quitclaim deed giving 96 acres intended as parkland to Taylor Woodrow Homes California Ltd. Krembas, whose wife was later hired by the development company, denied charges of wrongdoing and said he mistakenly signed the deed, thinking that it involved another transaction.

Casey, who describes the controversy as a “cloud that was hanging over the city at the moment,” was not about to renege. Now, three weeks into the new job, Casey says he’s confident he made the right choice.

“I’m loving every minute of it so far,” he said. “Even the controversies, the crises, are things we will move through. And there’ll always be a next one anyway.”

The parkland issue is only one snarl the city seeks to untangle as Casey settles into office. As a district attorney’s investigation into that incident continues, residents and city staff are in a standoff about how best to protect the city ridgelines. Meantime, the Planning Department is teetering under the weight of responsibilities recently assumed from the county, part of the transition to full-fledged cityhood.

New faces fill key slots in a city that incorporated just eight months ago and is still developing its identity. A city clerk was hired in May, planning commissioners took their seats in June and the new community development director began work this month. The change is energizing to a 39-year-old city manager who for nine years guided a century-old city.

“I can tell you my batteries feel completely recharged,” Casey said.

He is drawing on that energy to manage meeting-packed days, which begin with doughnuts and coffee and are interrupted only by phone calls and a working lunch. Until his home is sold and his wife and 9-year-old daughter can join him in Laguna Niguel, a 5:30 a.m. alarm and a 50-mile commute are also part of the package, which will earn him just under $100,000 a year.

Casey, who was born and reared in the South Bay area, also has worked for the cities of Ventura and Manhattan Beach. In Redondo Beach, Casey developed a reputation as a tough negotiator and a fiscal conservative, honest and stubborn. He also had a knack for sidestepping “political games,” Mayor Brad Parton said.

“They’ve got a good man there, I can tell you that,” Parton said. “We were very disappointed to see him go.”

Casey’s close working relationship with Redondo Beach colleagues has sparked speculation that some might follow him south.

“Needless to say, there are a number of people down there who would like to come up and be a member of this organization,” Casey said. “There are certainly some people in Redondo I’d like to bring to Laguna Niguel.”

For now, however, Casey is leading with his more serious side. His penchant for details apparent, the new city manager is working methodically to make sure nothing “falls through the cracks” while he puts the priorities of his new job in order. Later, he said, he can “let loose a little bit.”