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Wayne Saunders
(Articles are in reverse chronological order)
Tab 10
One-on-one meetings between the city manager and other council members and staff that
occurred in the weeks following the workshop apparently led to Saunders' decision to retire.
In addition, former city employees and other members of the community -- holding up signs on
Tuesday calling for the Saunders' termination, along with that of Police Chief Steve Graham
and Police Captain Jon Johnson -- had been attending meetings for months calling for his
resignation.
"The council, at least the majority of the council, wanted to bring in a new city manager who will
enthusiastically follow a vision plan once approved by the council with lots of citizen input,"
Ray Goodgame said in an email sent out Wednesday to constituents. "Presently, we have a $2.8
million pavilion and associated buildings just sitting idle. When we built this facility, the council
was expecting entertainment that would benefit all citizens and not a dead monument. "We
need concerts, movies, stage productions, etc at this facility for the citizens. We need to have
events that bring our citizens to all our parks and downtown," wrote Goodgame. "I guess, we
need a heart transplant along with a vision plan we can all support."
Councilman Keith Mullins called Saunders' resignation "honorable" and "in the best interest of
the city," since it sidestepped further turmoil. "Let's note that at 7:15 p.m. on July 10, Clermont
is now a city. We are no longer a community working together," Mullins said in protest of the
night's events. "This has been a nasty two weeks but I understand that the city needs to move
forward, and I guess this is the best way to do it. Wayne has done a great job for many years,
and to see it end like this was disheartening."
Police Chief Steve Graham said it will be hard to fill Sunders' shoes, calling him an "upstanding"
and "professional" city manager.
Van Wagner said as far as he's concerned, necessary changes will begin on Jan. 1 when a new
city manager is put in place.
Many of the attendees who were picketing for Saunders' termination, however, said the
agreement is not the right solution because Saunders will remain "in control" until Jan. 1, 2014.
Allison Auld said she was outraged that the council agreed to pay Saunders his full salary
through 2014, in addition to the pay that the new city manager will receive.
"I wish the city council would do the right thing and just let him (Saunders) go so that the city
can heal," said Kim Meintzschel, a former officer of the Clermont Police Department who claims
she was wrongfully terminated after filing a complaint against Graham with the FDLE a couple
of years ago. "Everything is not going to be resolved until he is out of the picture completely."
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