Council Will Fire Official Convicted in Asbestos Case : Lawndale: Council members cite Public Works Director James Sanders’ ‘substandard performance,’ not his recent trial.

Lawndale Public Works Director James Sanders, who last month was fined and sentenced to three years’ probation for illegally disposing of hazardous waste, will be dismissed at the end of the month, city officials said this week.

The decision to fire Sanders, who has not been at work for three weeks and is seeking a stress-disability leave, was not related to the outcome of the trial, city officials said. Instead, Sanders was fired because “his performance was substandard and had been so for some time,” said a council member, who asked not to be named.

Although City Manager John E. Nowak is empowered to fire department heads, the City Council concurred 3 to 2 with his decision during a closed session Thursday night. Mayor Harold E. Hofmann, who testified at the trial that Sanders had acted on the council’s orders, dissented. Councilman William Johnson was absent.

Hofmann said Tuesday that he opposed Sanders’ ouster in part because he believes that Sanders has suffered enough. “Do you hit a guy when he’s down?” Hofmann said. “Do you give a guy a chance to die before you bury him?”

Sanders, who has been public works director since May, 1989, did not return calls to his home.

Although he acknowledged that Sanders was recently evaluated, Nowak declined to discuss his status, citing the confidentiality of personnel matters.

“At the appropriate time, the word will come out,” Nowak said.

A local newspaper published a report about Sanders’ termination Saturday, before Sanders had been formally notified. Several council members expressed anger and disappointment about the leak, the source of which has not been disclosed.

“It’s a very poor way to handle a personnel matter that involves employee performance, evaluation and termination,” Councilman Norm Lagerquist said. “The employee deserves some courtesy in being notified of the decision of the city instead of reading about it in the Saturday paper.”

Councilwoman Carol Norman, who has been a longtime critic of Sanders, agreed: “That’s an awful way to find out about it. . . . It’s inappropriate. It’s not very professional.”

In March, a South Bay jury convicted Sanders, 47, and former City Manager James Arnold, 61, on five misdemeanor counts of illegally disposing of asbestos at the old city yard at 167th Street and Osage Avenue in June, 1989.

Sanders was found guilty of knowingly crushing asbestos tiles under the wheels of a tractor, causing the release of harmful asbestos fibers into the soil and air. Asbestos is a hazardous material that causes cancer and other lung ailments.

Among those who testified against Sanders and Arnold were Richard Orosco and James Lodinsky, two city maintenance employees who helped haul away the asbestos tiles during the demolition. Both workers have sued the city, alleging that their health was endangered when they were exposed to asbestos. Their cases are pending.

South Bay Municipal Court Judge Deanne Smith-Myers fined Sanders $9,940, ordered him to perform 300 hours of community service and placed him on three years’ probation.

Arnold, who was Sanders’ supervisor and who did not stop the demolition when he learned that the building contained asbestos, was fined $6,125, required to perform 150 hours of community service and given two years’ probation. He agreed to resign in July, 1990.

The City Council agreed in July to pay up to $40,000 for Sanders’ and Arnold’s defense. But the city has refused to pay their fines or finance their appeals, City Atty. David J. Aleshire said.