Ex-director Lennox cites 'restrictions' as factor in departure

Robert Lennox was at the podium in front of his staff during a presentation at Kay Ceniceros Center in 2015. Menifee 24/7 file photo

The City of Menifee's struggles to expand the scope of its park and recreation services is a source of frustration for many staff members. Apparently, it was especially so for one former staffer.

Robert Lennox, who left his position as Community Services Director last week, told Menifee 24/7 on Friday that the complexities of the City's application to detach itself from Valley-Wide Recreation and Park District had limited his ability to build the department in the manner he was hired to administrate it.

"It's always better when people in this kind of city management position are able to fully operate without restrictions," Lennox said. "The lack of detachment inhibited my ability to operate as a full-fledged department head should be able to operate. I can't say that's the whole reason, but it certainly was a factor."

Neither Lennox nor Interim City Manager Ron Bradley would give specifics about the terms of his departure. Lennox did confirm that his last day with the City was Sept. 20. At the time, he was evaluating bids from potential vendors for the beer garden at the upcoming Fall Festival. It was Lennox who opened up the bidding to all vendors, in effect removing the guarantee Chamber of Commerce officials believed they had to run the operation for the second consecutive year.

When Bradley met with Chamber of Commerce representatives five days later and agreed to welcome the Chamber back into the partnership, there was speculation that disagreement on the matter was the primary reason behind Lennox's departure. Bradley told Menifee 24/7 on Tuesday that the bidding process "was flawed and has now been resolved."

But Lennox said he believed his departure at that time was "just a coincidence."

"While I was working on the festival, management never brought to my attention any problems with the bidding process," Lennox said. "We talked about different options for the beer garden vending; that's all.

"I do think, however, that city management and I were starting to go in two different directions. I was hired to start a new department and establish operations. I think I fulfilled my initial responsibilities in getting the department off the ground. Because it's a small staff in Menifee, I had a great opportunity to learn more about how such a department should run.

"I just think it's a good time to look further ahead at more opportunities. The detachment process is going to take some time. It's not on the same track as when we began the effort. You have interpretations from LAFCO, the City and Valley-Wide. There's a variance there and it's been a key issue."

When the City Council voted in 2014 to create a Community Services Department and hired Lennox as its director, the intention was clear -- to eventually take ownership and supervision of all parks and recreation facilities in Menifee. It wasn't long before the City assumed control of all parks on the west side of the 215 Freeway from Riverside County. That included not only such established sites as Lazy Creek Park and its recreation center, but the new Audie Murphy Ranch Sports Park when it opened in May 2014.

It soon became obvious, however, that taking control of parks on the east side of the freeway from Valley-Wide wouldn't be easy.

Accusations between the two sides increased as the City headed toward an official application with the Riverside Local Agency Formation Commission to detach itself from Valley-Wide, which has provided parks and recreation services on the east side of Menifee for 28 years. LAFCO's ruling on the application, first filed in early 2016, was delayed several times until July.

LAFCO members voted on July 27 to approve the City's application for detachment, but only with the following conditions:

-- In order for the City to take over the landscape maintenance tax districts currently assigned to Valley-Wide, Menifee residents would have to vote to approve the change.

-- 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.

Meanwhile, Lennox continued to lead a department with a plan he wasn't sure would ever be carried out.

Bradley said Friday that the City has filed an appeal of the LAFCO decision, seeking to remove the stipulations. The City and Valley-Wide have been notified that the appeal will be heard at the next LAFCO meeting, set for Oct. 19 in Riverside.

Lennox said Friday he wasn't aware whether the City had filed an appeal, saying, "I don't know if that's still the plan. Ron had been the point person on that."

Bradley didn't give specifics about Lennox's role in the detachment application process when told of Lennox's comments.

"I can certainly understand his frustration," Bradley said. "When he was hired ... and that was long before I came here ... it's my understanding there was anticipation that detachment would occur and he'd have a much larger department."

Bradley said the City would be prepared to go to court in its bid for detachment as a last resort.

"If, at the end of the day, we have to get somebody in the court to give direction, we need to have exhausted all our administrative remedies first," Bradley said. "There are different parts of the agreement that are subject to question. We hope we can work it out without having to go that far.

"Whenever you've got three entities, all of which have a constituency, you need to take every step one at a time."

Matt Duarte, president of the Valley-Wide Board of Directors, had no comment when contacted by Menifee 24/7.

Lennox released a statement to the press on Friday, emphasizing the positive aspects of his time on the job and saying, "At no time during my tenure in the City was I ever chastised or reprimanded for the performance or behavior of my staff or myself. To the contrary, we have repeatedly been praised and supported for the leadership and direction we have taken. Any suggestion otherwise would be untrue."

To read Lennox's entire statement, click here.