Editorial: Transparency shouldn't have to be forced

By Doug Spoon, Editor

As City of Menifee staff continues to face complaints from residents regarding prolonged road projects and a proposed amphitheater, another high-ranking staff member has departed -- all while issues of transparency and integrity are being questioned.

Assistant city manager Jeff Wyman, a City employee for more than a decade, left his position last week, with no City explanation of his departure. Wyman becomes the third high-ranking City employee to depart in the last 10 months. Jonathan Smith, director of public works and city engineer for seven years, left the City in August. Jason Hendrix, community services coordinator who was responsible for many successful City events in recent years, left in April.

Sources told Menifee 24/7 these are only three of many exits by City staff members in recent months, including three members of the public works department who gave notice the first week of June. We have a pending public records request to get the complete list of those who have left in the last year.

So why all the staff departures – forced or otherwise – and what are the issues of transparency and integrity mentioned here? In looking for answers, we have to start at the top, with city manager Armando Villa. You may blame the City Council for issues being debated in the public forum recently – and many of you have – but the reality is, Villa calls the shots.

Hired away from the City of Calexico in December 2017, Villa boasts of the completion of several city projects, including creation of the Menifee Police Department. At the same time, however, his policy changes and misleading statements have blurred public perception of city government, making a true evaluation of his performance difficult to achieve.

First, Villa moved to restrict media access to public information. Direct communication between reporters and staff members to check facts and get direct quotes was no longer allowed, and media attempts to provide real-time updates on police activity were delayed. According to multiple sources, this policy was designed in part to prevent Menifee 24/7 from reporting City government news in a timely manner without an internal review of the request.

Since August, when Villa hired Dominique Samario as the City’s first public information officer, Villa’s policy has been to funnel all media inquiries through Samario. It is not always made clear to this reporter whether responses from Samario are actual quotes from department heads or a summarized response. In essence, Samario has been asked to shield City staff members from the media.

With very few exceptions, media inquiries emailed directly to department heads have instead prompted a response from Samario, even when she is not copied on emails by reporters. Only in the last week, after repeated direct emails from this reporter to department heads following news articles raising these concerns, have staff members begun to directly respond to us without sending a copy to Samario.

This apparent lack of transparency is troubling. So are false statements and what we believe are unethical actions on the part of City staff and City Council members.

The most recent concerns include responses to media questions regarding funding for the much-needed Holland Road Overpass, and regarding a $454,000 City Council approval on June 2 to pay for the design of an amphitheater in Menifee Town Center’s Central Park.

While Villa insists the Holland Road Overpass is fully funded, a study of the funding sources by Menifee 24/7 proves otherwise.

The staff document listing funding sources for the Holland Road Overpass over the 215 Freeway includes a 2021-22 budget allocation of $7.7 million in “proposed” funds from a county regional funding source known as Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fees (TUMF).

However, the TUMF allocation for the Holland Road Overpass in 2021-22 as currently listed on the Western Riverside Council of Governments (WRCOG) website as only $2.1 million. A day after Menifee 24/7 asked for clarification, Villa said he had met with county officials that day and that the $7.7 million was scheduled to be approved in July. Menifee 24/7 also learned from Chris Gray, WRCOG deputy executive director, that if approved, the $7.7 million will only be paid to the City in portions as reimbursement for up-front construction payments that must be made by the City.

There are no funds allocated in the proposed 2021-22 Capital Improvements Program and Funding Plan budget to cover those up-front costs. That budget goes before the City Council at its 6 p.m. meeting on Wednesday.

So previous statements made by Villa to Menifee 24/7 and by City Council member Bob Karwin, made on a June 4 video on his personal Facebook page to refute our reporting, were false. Karwin’s statement that “the money is there” is incorrect. It’s there on paper, but TUMF funds haven't been approved by WRCOG, and there isn’t funds listed in any account that will pay out before reimbursement from TUMF funds.

Karwin probably does not deserve much of the blame, however; it appears he is only repeating what Villa has told him.

In addition, Villa made a false statement during the June 2 meeting regarding the bulk of the funding allocated to the amphitheater project – a $2.1 million allocation, which was taken from a $3 million payment made to the City by Waste Management during renegotiation of the company’s service contract. Villa stated that “when we were going through the negotiations, we identified that the agreement should carry a community benefit. They did agree to pay a $3 million community benefit.”

Reacting to negative public comment on social media about approval of the design contract, Karwin incorrectly stated in his Facebook video that “as part of that [Waste Management] contract, they agreed to pay $3 million for community improvement projects. That doesn’t mean roads … it means parks and things like that. We cannot take that money and repurpose it.”

Menifee 24/7 obtained a copy of the “Amended and Restated Franchise Agreement,” effective April 1, 2020. The complete language for section 11.1 of the document, in which Waste Management agrees to pay the City $3 million as “consideration for agreement”, reads as follows:

“As consideration for City entering into this Amended and Restated Franchise Agreement, within fifteen (15) business days after the Effective Date, Contractor shall pay to City an extension fee of Three Million Dollars ($3,000,000).”

Nothing is said about a "community benefit". There is no restriction placed on how those funds may be used by the City. They could be used to help fund the Holland Overpass if necessary or any number of road projects – which we believe is the most urgent area of need in Menifee. Instead, Villa designated $2.1 million of the $3 million to the amphitheater project, because that’s how much the City was short of design firm TY Lin’s quote (including construction costs) of $3.9 million – an amount that was accepted by the City without putting the contract out for bid, in violation of City policy.

City officials will tell you that the $3.9 million figure is a moot point because construction will be a separate project and will go out to bid, meaning the final amount could be much less. If so, will any of the savings be used to build a parking structure for all those guests they expect will attend amphitheater events?

It’s clear that a vast majority of residents don’t want an amphitheater at this time, and certainly not in that location. Unfortunately, it seems no one at the City is listening to them.

The priority given to the amphitheater project at a location with so little parking, so much traffic, and with so many more pressing City projects is puzzling. So are the efforts of two City Council members and at least one City staff member to solicit public endorsement of the project and thus oppose mounting public opposition, particularly those stated in comments on the Menifee 24/7 Facebook page.

At the May 19 City Council meeting, three administrators from Santa Rosa Academy spoke during the public comments section in support of the amphitheater project. This seemed orchestrated, considering that the project was not on the agenda and three people from the same organization voiced their support.

According to Andrea Pasolini, public information officer at Santa Rosa Academy, the administrators spoke in favor of the amphitheater project only after a City staff member reached out to them via email and asked for a public endorsement. Jonathan Nicks, community services director, was asked by Menifee 24/7 if he solicited that endorsement. Nicks said he did not and wasn’t aware of anyone at City Hall who did. Menifee 24/7 has asked Pasolini for a copy of the email.

At the June 2 City Council meeting, when the proposal to allocate $454,000 for the amphitheater design contract was approved, only two residents attended in person. Both spoke against the proposal. One resident appeared via Zoom and spoke in favor of the project.

Prior to those testimonies, city clerk Sarah Manwaring informed council members that other public comments had been emailed in, and that copies of those emails had been given to each council member but would not be read aloud, per City policy.

When Mayor Pro Tem Lesa Sobek asked why those comments would not be read, Manwaring replied that because council meetings were now open to the public and via Zoom, emailed comments were no longer being read aloud, and in fact hadn’t been read in recent weeks. It appears that Manwaring referred to public meetings rules dictated by the Brown Act, which requires anyone making public comment to appear in person. The lone remaining exception until COVID-19 restrictions are completely removed is to allow residents to comment via Zoom, stating their name and making their comments virtually.

But moments later, during council discussion of the amphitheater project, Sobek pulled printed emails out of her folder and read from them anyway, citing selected portions of the comments without giving the names of the writers, as is required when comments are stated aloud. She claimed that 10 of 11 emails supported the project, but that was not clear to those in the audience.

Sobek, who with council member Dean Deines served on an ad hoc committee to study feasibility of the project, has been its most vocal proponent among council members. One resident, who asked not to be named, told Menifee 24/7 that he received a call from Sobek, asking him to publicly endorse the project. He said he refused, adding that he was aware Sobek had called others to solicit public comments in favor of the project and was disappointed in her tactics.

Sobek told Menifee 24/7 that she did call some residents, but only to make them aware of the project and not to persuade them either way. She denied requesting endorsements.

Nicks’ staff presentation on the project included a slide that showed parking options for events at the amphitheater. It listed 200 parking spots at Santa Rosa Academy. After reporting this, Menifee 24/7 was contacted by Pasolini. She said SRA had no agreement with the City about providing parking spots for amphitheater events, and that the school didn’t even have 200 parking spots. She said she emailed City staff to inquire about it after reading the Menifee 24/7 article but received no response.

Asked by Menifee 24/7 about it, Nicks said those 200 spots were listed only as an “option” and pointed out that he stated during his presentation that an agreement would have to be made with Santa Rosa Academy.

For the record, Menifee 24/7 is not opposed to an amphitheater in Menifee. But as many others have stated, we are not in favor of it at this time – especially when we have ethical concerns about city officials soliciting public comment to support it, and when details about funding for the amphitheater and Holland Road Overpass are not accurate.

Villa’s policy restricting media access is also a concern. If reporters are not allowed to request and receive direct responses from staff members without a PR person being involved, questions such as those raised here will continue to arise -- and public trust in city government will be compromised.

It shouldn’t take pressure from the media and general public to force transparency in City matters. We ask for transparency in all City issues and for staff and City Council members to be open and honest with the public.