Community services director, Chamber director both depart

Robert Lennox, City of Menifee community services director, left the position last Thursday. Menifee 24/7 file photo

Two principal administrators involved in vendor negotiations for the City of Menifee Fall Festival have left or will leave their positions, but officials say there is no connection between the two, with one official saying the Oct. 28 Halloween-themed festival will be "bigger and better."

Robert Lennox, the City's community services director, left his position last Thursday. Interim City Manager Ron Bradley, citing personnel issues confidentiality, would not comment Tuesday about a report from multiple sources that Lennox was fired. The City has made no official announcement about Lennox's departure. The City website lists his position as vacant; Bradley said City administrator Gina Gonzalez would oversee directors in that department while a replacement is being sought.

"Any information would have to come from Robert," Bradley said about the reasons for Lennox's departure. Lennox could not be reached for comment.

Lennox had responsibility for overseeing planning for the Fall Festival, which will be held Oct. 28 at Audie Murphy Ranch Sports Park. The Menifee Valley Chamber of Commerce partnered with the City at last year's festival, managing the beer garden and business vendors. Prior to this year's event, however, Lennox announced that he was opening up bidding for vendor management services, essentially forcing the Chamber to apply along with any other interested parties.

As recently as Sept. 15, Lennox told Menifee 24/7 that a manager for the beer garden had not been selected and that a recommendation would be made to the City Council at the Oct. 4 council meeting. The item was not on the agenda for the Sept. 20 council meeting, but a late addition to the closed session council was an item regarding "public employee discipline/dismissal/release." The item was pulled from the agenda at the last minute, however, and Bradley said it did not involve Lennox.

The next day, Lennox departed his City position. Four days later, on Monday, City officials met with executive committee members of the Chamber of Commerce and agreed to welcome the Chamber back as manager of the beer garden and food and craft vendors. The same day, the Chamber announced that its executive director, Tim Dalton, had resigned.

Vickie Carpenter, chair of the Chamber of Commerce board of directors, said Dalton (left) resigned to accept a position in his speciality of re-development and to be closer to his family in Portland. She said he was not fired or forced to resign. She said Dalton, whose last day is Oct. 6, attended planning meetings for the Fall Festival Monday and Tuesday and that there was no dissatisfaction with his performance related to the festival vendor bidding or anything else.

"I can see how the perception might be, but one had nothing to do with the other," Carpenter said about the departures of Dalton and Lennox. "Tim had decided to take the job last week and we were made aware of it over the weekend.

"I think Tim did a great job here and we wish him much success in his new job."

Monday's meeting appears to have restored the relationship between the City and Chamber of Commerce regarding management of the Fall Festival -- something that seemed in jeopardy when Lennox opened the vendor management up to other bidders. Although Bradley would not comment on reasons for Lennox's departure, he said that the bidding process for the festival vendors "was flawed and has now been resolved."

Bradley added, "This will have no affect on the Fall Festival. It will be bigger and better this year."

Carpenter said interested vendors should now contact the Chamber of Commerce rather than the City.

"Any brewery can ask to be involved," she said in reference to the beer garden. She also said that owners of the Mason Jar Brewery, last year's vendor, would participate in the beer garden again this year.

"The City reached out to us on Monday," Carpenter said. "We didn't have any hard feelings toward the City before. We had realized there was more work involved than we thought, so we had asked for a bigger cut (of the proceeds). They made a business decision (in opening up the bidding process), and we had no problem with that."

Carpenter said that as a result of Monday's meeting, the Chamber will receive the extra cut of the proceeds it had requested. She did not give specifics.

Lennox was also intimately involved with the City's application to the Riverside Local Agency Formation Commission to detach itself from Valley-Wide Recreation and Park District and take control of all parks and recreation in Menifee. Bradley said Lennox's departure will not have a negative effect on that effort.

"Many people from the City have been involved in that application all along," Bradley said.

LAFCO members voted on July 27 to approve the City's application for detachment, but with some pretty big conditions. They ruled that in order for the City to take over those landscape maintenance tax districts, voters would need to approve the change. In addition, the City of Menifee would have to pay $1 million to Valley-Wide to take over the community gym at Wheatfield Park and as "gap bridge" funding to compensate for Valley-Wide's loss of revenue.

Bradley said Tuesday the City recently filed an appeal of the LAFCO decision and is awaiting a response from that county governing body. The next LAFCO meeting is scheduled for Oct. 19.

Carpenter said Chamber board members would meet later this week to consider applications for Dalton's job. His replacement will be the sixth director of the Chamber in less than three years. Dorothy Wolons served in that capacity for almost 10 years before taking disability leave on stress-related issues in early 2015. She has sued the Chamber, claiming she was illegally terminated while out on stress leave.