Sunnyside still up in the air over latest departure

SUNNYSIDE, Wash. — The future for the city of Sunnyside was no less foggy Tuesday, a day after City Manager Mark Gervasi suddenly announced his resignation after only 16 months on the job.

The Sunnyside City Council barely discussed Gervasi’s departure at a special meeting Tuesday, previously scheduled to discuss budget priorities.

Instead, Mayor Mike Farmer asked his fellow council members to reconvene for another special meeting at 9 a.m. Feb. 25 to work on plans for a replacement.

Farmer said it would take at least six months to find a permanent manager. Gervasi plans to leave in two months, meaning the city may have to hire an interim replacement.

Gervasi announced Monday night his plans to retire on April 6, making him the fifth new head administrator for this Lower Valley city of 15,000 residents since 1998, and the third to serve less than two years.

The explanations of his departure were no more clear Tuesday, either. Gervasi, who started in September 2010, again declined to discuss the reasons.

However, he said the news dismayed many people at City Hall.

"I heard that the reaction was that folks were kind of down," he said.

The move caught most council members off guard. Phone calls to several city staff members were not returned Tuesday.

"I know he’s got a lot of things he wants to do but I guess he’s just tired," said Nick Paulakis, a city councilman.

Paulakis suspected health concerns may have played a part and that Gervasi still owned a house in Tillamook, Ore., where he served as the city manager for 13 years.

During his short tenure in Sunnyside, Gervasi steered the city through its first two-year budget, growth in the police force and early moves to revitalize downtown. Left undone are some projects Gervasi has talked about, including curbs and gutters on Yakima Valley Highway, a well-traveled retail and commercial strip, Paulakis said.

Some close to City Hall speculated a divisive work relationship between elected officials and city staff may be partly to blame.

"I just have a feeling that underneath everything, there’s some unrest," Paulakis said.

In January 2010, a Spokane consultant called Sunnyside City Hall a "severely fractured" workplace full of distrust and dysfunction. An employee who left this year said it hasn’t gotten much better.

"It’s a toxic environment, let’s put it that way," said Jim Bridges, the former public works director.

Bridges said council members routinely skirt Gervasi’s role as city manager by directing city staff members to perform tasks. That was one of the same complaints Gervasi’s predecessor, Eric Swansen, made when he was fired in June 2009.

Bridges, who served as the interim city manager between Swansen and Gervasi, lost his job in January after the council eliminated his position from the budget.

Meanwhile, many administrative workers are forming their own union.

At times, council members clashed about their roles compared to those of Gervasi. For example, in a July meeting, Councilman Don Vlieger strongly opposed any language in a proposed code of conduct that would have prohibited council members from criticizing the performance of an employee without first bringing it up with the city manager.

"I won’t sign it," he said at the time.

Councilman Jim Restucci agreed that tense relationships didn’t help.

"I think there’s been some concerns. Obviously there’s been some give and take in council," Restucci said. "Mark may feel like he’s in an uphill battle."

Sunnyside city manager tenures

•  Leo Fancey: 1981-1998

•  Don Hahnfeldt: Sept. 1998-June 1999

•  Dave Fonfara: Jan. 2000-Jan. 2004

•  Bob Stockwell: May 2004-Sept. 2007

•  Eric Swansen: June 2008-June 2009

•  Mark Gervasi: Sept. 2010-Jan. 2012

• Ross Courtney can be reached at 509-930-8798 or rcourtney@yakimaherald.com.