Brimhall Gets a Grand Farewell From His City

It may not have been the most poignant homage, but it was one Grant Brimhall doubtless appreciated:

Seeing the parking lot of his city’s sparkling $64-million city hall and theater complex full to brimming with cars. The occasion? Thursday night’s “performance revue” to commemorate Brimhall’s 20 years of public service as Thousand Oaks’ city manager.

Inside the Civic Arts Plaza, about 500 people laughed--and occasionally teared up--as the dapper, retired city manager was roasted by a gaggle of friends, family, business leaders, arts advocates, law enforcement officials and elected types.

One after another, they credited Brimhall with steering Thousand Oaks’ growth from picket-fence small town to snazzy-subdivision suburb.

“I don’t need to tell you all of Grant’s accomplishments,” said Assemblyman Nao Takasugi (R-Oxnard) during the three-hour event. “Just look at this beautiful facility; it’s one of them.”

Nonetheless, many speakers pointed out the many accomplishments that have taken place during Brimhall’s tenure: creating two top-notch libraries, building the Civic Arts Plaza, setting aside 14,000 acres of land as permanent open space, nurturing businesses, bringing in tax dollars and overseeing one of the safest big cities in the nation.

Brimhall had a hand in each one of those milestones, county Supervisor Frank Schillo said.

“This is the end of an era for this city,” he said. “But it’s one we all can be proud of. What this man--a good husband, a good father, a family man who I respect for his ethics and integrity--has done, it’s just awesome.”

The event drew almost as many politicians as a November ballot: Brimhall’s civilian bosses past and present, Takasugi, Schillo, school board President Dolores Didio, Sheriff’s Deputy Chief Bob Brooks and many others.

More personal tributes came from Brimhall’s six adult children and nine grandchildren. Daughter Becky read a poem about being tucked into bed by her father each night. The grandchildren--minus one small ham who kept dashing around the stage and into the wings--sang “I’m So Happy When Grandpa Comes Home.”

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By night’s end, the 60-year-old Brimhall had collected enough loot to cram his Suburban, including a stack of plaques, a fire helmet, several sculptures, a few paintings and a peculiar coat rack made of a surplus water hydrant. He also picked up enough honorary titles and degrees to clutter his already packed resume.

Since retiring on Valentine’s Day--after recovering from quintuple-bypass surgery--Brimhall hasn’t slowed down much. But his Tuesday night routine has changed dramatically.

Instead of sitting in a suit on a dais surrounded by quarreling council members discussing growth or law enforcement, Brimhall--along with his wife, Avis--now spends his Tuesday nights casually garbed, teaching a parenting class for couples raising teenagers.

The devoutly religious family man is also working on his first book, although he won’t say much about the tome. Brimhall will divulge that it’s a nonfiction piece--not a memoir--that he hopes to finish within a year.

Feeding Brimhall’s municipal government hankering is a “part-time, low-key” consulting job with the League of California Cities, in which he will look at future effects of technology on governing.

One key issue Brimhall will analyze is whether, and how, cities can capture sales tax dollars from booming Internet commerce.

“Through catalog sales and Internet sales, a massive amount of revenues are being generated for companies,” Brimhall said Thursday afternoon. “And, many times, there’s no sales tax paid. That money goes to schools, fire departments, police departments, libraries. . . . That’s a major potential loss.”