Dear Mayor, City Council, and City Manager - Disappointment and Frustration

By Clayton Watch

Dear Mayor and City Council,

I am writing this letter to express my deep disappointment and frustration regarding the recent experience I had with the City Manager, Bret Prebula, and a few of his employees.

I believe it is important to bring this matter to your attention, and hope that it can be resolved properly, and to prevent some similar issues from reoccurring in the future. On October 13th I reached out to Brett via the phone and encouraged him to schedule a meeting with both Bill Walcutt and me so we could resolve our questions and concerns regarding the Olivia project.

Brett responded and said he would agree to meet with us on Wednesday, October 18th at 2 o’clock at City Hall and would have, Larry Theis, our city engineer, along with Andrew a representative from Kennedy and Associates present. It sounded like the stage was set for us to receive the answers we had been inquiring about for weeks.

Despite my initial expectations and previous constructive experiences with Brett, this particular meeting/incident has left me extremely dissatisfied with the level of service and professionalism on display by Bret Prebula, Larry Theis, and the consultant from Kennedy and Associates.

The main reason for this meeting was so that we could ask specific questions regarding the oversight of the Olivia Project. Before the meeting even got underway, Brett started to lecture us, in a very stern and unpleasant voice, about how we were disrupting the City of Clayton with our unfounded questions and misinformation that were being spread throughout the community. (Holly, as depicted in your useless weekend video, please show us proof of where we have been spreading rumors about Bret, and that he should be fired.)

I abruptly stopped him and told him we hadn’t come here to receive a lecture. We came to inquire about the oversight on the Olivia project. Matt Feski and the consultant immediately jumped in. Matt was rude and defensive and said Mr. Jordan was following the conditions of approval perfectly. We disagreed and tried to give him a few examples, but he refused to listen and constantly interrupted.

The consultant was very arrogant, just as he was to councilmember Kim Trupiano the prior night at the council meeting. He said he was watching Mr. Jordan very carefully. When I pressed him on the dust from grading, lack of fencing, and not protecting the trees, both of them came unglued and did not want to be criticized or exposed for their mishandling of this project. Larry Theis, the city engineer loudly and abruptly said “You’ve got ten minutes to explain the lack of oversight.” I immediately snapped back and told him he works for us and will not be put on his timeline. He loudly shouted, “This meeting is over.”

These individuals, Bret Prebula, Larry Theis, and Andrew from Kennedy and Associates are forgetting two important points, the citizens of Clayton pay their salaries, and they are expected to treat all members of the public and fellow city employees with respect, courtesy, concern, and responsiveness.

I appreciate your attention to this complaint and the urgency with which you handle this matter. I value our previous relationship and hope we can find a mutually satisfactory resolution.

Sincerely,

Gary Hood
Clayton Watch

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