Oxnard Leaders Abruptly End Retreat, Put Off Frutchey Vote

In a surprise move, the Oxnard City Council canceled the rest of its weekend retreat after holding a closed-door session for nearly two hours Friday.

The retreat, which began at noon Friday at the River Ridge Golf Course clubhouse and was scheduled to continue through today, was abruptly called off in the afternoon because Councilmen Bedford Pinkard and Tom Holden said they were sick and did not feel well enough to continue, City Atty. Gary Gillig said.

The councilmen were sequestered in a conference room to discuss closed-session items that included a contract decision and job performance evaluation of City Manager Tom Frutchey.

Most of the councilmen left suddenly and without comment even though several residents, retreat consultants and a television crew taping the retreat had been waiting since noon for an announcement.

A source close to the discussions said the session ended on an angry note.

Pinkard and Mayor Manuel Lopez confirmed Friday that no vote had been taken on whether to extend Frutchey’s contract, which expired in October.

Later, none of the councilmen would comment on the details of their two-hour closed session.

Pinkard said the council did not set a date for the next retreat and that a decision on Frutchey’s contract could be made at Tuesday’s council meeting.

The contract decision has divided the council, with Lopez and newly elected Councilman John Zaragoza stating their opposition to renewing Frutchey’s contract. Pinkard has not stated his position publicly.

Frutchey has been criticized by some, including Lopez and Zaragoza, for implementing a government restructuring plan that replaced department heads with team leaders and turned departments into teams. That system of governing leaves vacuums in accountability, Zaragoza has said in the past.

Zaragoza, Lopez and Pinkard have said they are also concerned about complaints from city employees who say Frutchey’s management style is one of fear and intimidation.

Lopez has also complained that he has been kept out of the loop by the city manager on many issues, such as the signing of a preliminary contract with a minor league baseball team last fall, without his knowledge.

But Holden and Councilman Dean Maulhardt have voiced their support for the embattled city manager, who they say has effectively reduced bureaucratic red tape and has made Oxnard more business-friendly.

On Friday afternoon from his home, Holden said he was too sick to talk about the retreat, although he planned to attend a Chamber of Commerce cocktail party and swearing-in ceremony for new officers Friday night.

During the public comment session at the retreat, several speakers voiced their support and opposition to the embattled city manager.

One city employee presented the council with a petition signed by 49 colleagues in support of their boss, saying that the new system is working very well.

“Transformation is the thread that has woven together what used to be very segmented and territorial departments into a more cohesive entity,” stated the Jan. 27 letter from these city employees addressed to Lopez.

City employee Joe Avelar, who has been with the city for 38 years, said he fully supported Frutchey and his management style.

“Tom has an open-door policy. He doesn’t intimidate anybody,” Avelar said. “I don’t want to go back to the old hierarchy. We have a good program . . . and we are happy.”

Added resident and golfer George Fraker: “I’ve seen nothing but improvement” in the golf course and the city since Frutchey arrived.

But others like Ed Hughes, who retired as the city’s library director a few years ago, said he is upset at the way some city employees have been treated.

“I have been disturbed over this some time ago, because some very good friends of mine have been treated very unfairly,” Hughes said.

The cancellation took many residents who attended the start of the retreat by surprise.

“It’s a shame that they waste money and have consultants sitting around for three hours,” Sid Posin said. “It’s unfortunate.”