Steve Mermell emceed a reception thanking outgoing city manager Michael Beck Tuesday evening at city hall. Mermell has been selected as the Interim City Manager for Pasadena- Photo by Terry Miller
Pasadena City Council Elects Interim City Manager Steve Mermell
By Gus Herrera
On Monday, Feb. 8, the Pasadena City Council elected an interim city manager, Steve Mermell, to temporarily replace City Manager Michael Beck who will leave office effective midnight on Feb. 15. The meeting got off to a fiery start with several public comments concerning Juan Ruelas, principal of Madison Elementary School. Many of the speakers, some of which included present and former Madison teachers, delivered passionate accusations of alleged negative effects caused by Ruelas’ tenure. Naturally, the public comments ran over the allotted time limit, but the speeches seemed to particularly resonate with Councilmembers Gordo and Kennedy. Kennedy asked Mayor Tornek to extend the public comment portion of the meeting, a request that was denied. Gordo took it a step further and asked for a public forum to be scheduled with Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) Superintendent Brian Mcdonald and all relevant PUSD representatives, in order to further discuss the issue. For more information on the Madison Elementary School situation see the Pasadena Independent’s article from Jan. 21: www.pasadenaindependent.com/news/teacher-files-million-dollar-defamation-claim-against-pusd-and-madison-elementary-principal.
At the conclusion of the public comments there was an interesting moment when Gordo asked to adjourn the meeting for the night out of respect for the late Dr. Juan Fransisco Lara, a graduate of Pasadena High School and a very well respected and revered figure in education. Tornek respectfully denied Gordo’s proposal.
As the meeting proceeded into the first item on the agenda, the appointment of an interim city manager, councilmembers took the time to each thank and praise Beck, the soon-to-be former city manager. They shared personal anecdotes of their time with Beck, some more heartfelt than others (Councilmember Masuda was particularly invested). All in all, there was a consensus amongst the council that Beck’s time serving the City of Pasadena was indeed productive.
The council then voted unanimously to appoint Steve Mermell, assistant city manager, as interim city manager. “Mermell earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in public administration from California State University-Northridge. He has been a Pasadena city employee since 1989, working his way up the ranks from an administrative analyst at Pasadena Water and Power. In the Finance Department, he served as purchasing administrator, budget administrator, and deputy director of finance,” according to the city’s website.
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The second and final item on the city council agenda concerned the authorization to enter into a contract with the recruitment firm Bob Murray & Associates for the selection of a new city manager, the amount of which is not to exceed $35,000. Four potential firms were interviewed in the process but Bob Murray & Associates was ultimately selected because of its national reputation and its history with Pasadena (the firm has been hired by the city in the past), according to Tornek. Despite this item passing with unanimous support from the council, Kennedy raised a few concerns. Firstly, he argued that $35,000 is insufficient for a national search of the magnitude and quality that the city would like to conduct. Tornek informed him that the figure was based off of the proposed fees submitted by the recruitment firms themselves. Second, Kennedy proposed including a citizen selection committee in the recruitment process, so that the public may be allowed an opportunity to share their input and desired qualifications. He then asked Tornek to elaborate on the selected firm’s reputation with respect to diversity in their hiring process; not only the racial diversity of the individuals, but also diversity in the fields from which the potential candidates will be drawn. Kennedy argued that the search for a new city manager would not be comprehensive unless some candidates are pulled from outside the realm of government, the mayor responded by yet again defending the reputation of Bob Murray & Associates.
Once the city council meeting adjourned there was a brief recess and then it was time for a special joint meeting between the city council and the PUSD, during which the council was updated on Collaborate Pasadena, the Youth Master Plan, in addition to ongoing and recently completed construction projects at Mckinley School, Washington Middle School, and John Muir High School. Tornek also presented the 2016 Rose Queen and Royal Court with certificates of recognition.
For more details on last Monday’s meetings visit: http://ww2.cityofpasadena.net/councilagendas/council_agenda.asp.
Michael Beck speaks with supporters at a reception in his honor Tuesday night. –Photo by Terry Miller
