Benest honored at his last council meeting

With his son and daughter, Noah and Leila Rose, in the audience, outgoing City Manager Frank Benest was honored by the City Council Monday night as a passionate leader, prudent manager and nationally recognized local-government advocate.

“Together we’ve done some very great things and I’m proud of that,” Benest said, calling his eight years in Palo Alto “a personal and professional honor.”

“It’s been a very good and somewhat bumpy ride,” Benest said.

Benest suffered a series of personal tragedies during his tenure. His wife, Pamela, died in 2004 and he underwent treatment for cancer.

Benest is retiring in September to be replaced by James Keene, a former city manager of Berkeley and Tucson.

But Benest doesn’t accept the old-fashioned concept of retirement.

“I do not actually plan to retire. Retire means to withdraw. That simply is not in my DNA,” Benest said.

In what he calls his “encore phase,” Benest said he plans to teach, write, train and consult.

After attending a surprise party recently held in honor of Benest, Mayor Larry Klein said he learned that city staff members “really liked and appreciated Frank.”

At the party, many employees said Benest had helped their careers and they particularly valued Benest’s habit of sending a handwritten note to mark a job well done.

Councilman John Barton said he appreciated Benest’s contributions to creating the Opportunity Center, a homeless drop-in center with permanent living spaces that opened in 2006.

“That simply would not have happened without you leading the way,” Barton said.

Councilman Yiaway Yeh said he was influenced by Benest’s advocacy of involving young people in local government while he was in graduate school at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

“That was something that inspired a lot of us,” Yeh said. “I just wanted to say, ‘Thank you so much for your visionary ideas.'”

Benest intends to remain in the Palo Alto house he co-owns with the city until his children graduate from high school.

“I wish our new city manager a great adventure just as I’ve had and that he too enjoys the challenge that is Palo Alto,” Benest said.

A party for Benest is being planned for Aug. 28 at the Palo Alto Art Center, with additional details to be announced.

In other business:

* Led by Councilman Pat Burt, a council subcommittee has negotiated a contract of less than $25,000 for external police auditor Michael Gennaco to review the investigation of the Children’s Theatre – down from the $50,000 limit proposed earlier.

The review will examine whether it was appropriate to launch a criminal investigation, whether the investigation was conducted in accordance with the best police practices and whether communication – within the Police Department, the city and with the public – was appropriate and adequate.

Burt said the subcommittee hopes Gennaco would, if necessary, propose reforms to the department’s procedures and supervisory structure and recommendations for improved communications.

* The city manager, attorney, auditor and clerk will no longer receive bonuses, the City Council decided unanimously Monday night.

Councilman John Barton – chairman of the Council Appointed Officers’ Committee, responsible for the four employees that report directly to the council – said he couldn’t say explain the change because it was reached during a closed session.

He said it was not due to any law.

In addition, the council agreed City Attorney Gary Baum will receive a $7,000 raise and City Clerk Donna Grider’s will receive a $5,200 raise. All four positions are also eligible to receive cost-of-living adjustments of 3.5 percent this year.

* Reversing an earlier agreement to save $20,000 a year by halting the long-standing practice of publishing the City Council agenda in the newspaper, the council voted 5-3 to continue publishing the agenda in the Weekly.

The money was already moved from the 2008-09 budget (which began July 1) and was expected to help pay for the approximately $5 million annually needed to pay for the public safety building planned for Park Boulevard.

The council voted 5-3, with Vice Mayor Peter Drekmeier, council members Sid Espinosa and John Barton in favor of using the $20,000 for the public safety building. Mayor Larry Klein abstained because his employer, Dorsey & Whitney LLP, occasionally represents Embarcadero Publishing, the Weekly’s parent company.

Barton and Espinosa expressed frustration the council was countering its earlier decision, made as part of the budget approval, to stop publishing the agenda.

It will be hard to finance the $80 million project if every cost-savings is contested, they warned.

But for other council members, eliminating the agenda’s publication counters one of the council’s priorities, civic engagement.

“I don’t think this is at this point in time an appropriate (step),” Councilman Pat Burt said. “Newspapers remain a vital part of our community dialogue.”

With a 6-2 vote, Barton and Espinosa voting no, the council agreed to finance the publication out of its contingency fund.

* The council unanimously agreed to pursue negotiations with GreenWaste Recovery, a San Jose-based company, to haul Palo Alto’s waste beginning in July 2009. The council is expected to vote on the final, approximately $115.5 million, eight-year contract Sept. 8.

Only two companies, GreenWaste and Norcal Waste Systems of San Francisco, bid for the contract. GreenWaste offered to haul the city’s waste for $16 million less than Norcal and had a preferred operating system as well as closer facilities, Public Works Director Glenn Roberts said.

* The council named John Melton and Asher Waldfogel to the Utilities Advisory Commission. Melton, an incumbent, and Waldfogel were selected from a pool of six candidates. n

Staff Writer Becky Trout can be e-mailed at btrout@paweekly.com.