September
4, 2014
San
Jose Mercury News
By Aaron
Kinney
HALF MOON BAY -- San Mateo County Harbor
District General Manager Peter Grenell has announced he will retire at the end
of the year, bringing to a close his 17-year term of leadership that has
recently been clouded by criticism.
Grenell, 75, delivered the news to the
district's board of commissioners Wednesday night at a meeting in Half Moon
Bay. In an interview Thursday, Grenell said the decision had nothing to do with
July's scathing report by the county's civil grand jury that called for the
district to be dissolved.
"I feel that I'll be leaving the
district in good hands and in good condition," said Grenell, who praised
his "outstanding" staff.
The district is ahead of schedule in paying
off nearly $20 million in loans for infrastructure improvements at Pillar Point
Harbor north of Half Moon Bay and Oyster Point Marina in South San Francisco,
Grenell said, and is devising a long-range business plan.
The grand jury lambasted the harbor district
for its financial reporting and budgeting, finding the agency relies too much
on property taxes, rather than fees and other revenue sources, to support its
operations. The grand jury also chided the district's five-member board for its
lack of collegiality -- some members are openly hostile toward Commissioner
Sabrina Brennan, who is often critical of Grenell and her elected colleagues.
Grenell pointed out Thursday that the
district last month issued a vigorous response to the grand jury, defending its
budgeting and financial reporting procedures as "consistent with prudent
and transparent fiscal practices." The district noted in its response that
it has taken steps, including hiring a consultant, to improve relations on the
board.
Brennan declined to comment on Grenell's
tenure Thursday, instead encouraging voters to oust board members Jim Tucker
and Will Holsinger, who in her view have enabled Grenell to lead the district
astray.
"I think it's important that new people
are elected," she said, "to make sure an excellent new leader is
hired for the harbor district."
Tucker, Holsinger and board President Pietro
Parravano praised Grenell on Wednesday after his unexpected announcement, while
Brennan remained silent. Commissioner Robert Bernardo was not in attendance.
Tucker, who joined the board one year after
Grenell took over in 1997, said Thursday that neither the grand jury report nor
Brennan's dissatisfaction have changed his opinion of the long-serving general
manager.
"None of this dissuades me from believing
he did a great job for the district," said Tucker, "and I'm very
pleased and proud to have worked with him."˙
Grenell said he looks forward to spending
more time with his first grandchild, a 5-month-old girl.
"It's time for me to move on; it's time
for the district to carry on," he said, "and off we go."
Contact Aaron Kinney at 650-348-4357. Follow
him at Twitter.com/kinneytimes.
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