After four years as general manager of the Oceano Community Services District (OCSD), Will Clemens, is heading for an early retirement due to what he said was the board’s constant state of disarray.
“The dysfunction of this board came to a head at our last meeting of Oct. 11 and culminated with the resignation of the legal firm representing our district. It’s clear that I’m not the person to lead this district in the direction that this board now desires to go, especially because this new board direction lacks clarity,” Clemens said during the Oct. 25 board meeting. “Therefore, it’s with mixed emotions that I finally decided to call it a career and retire from public service after 24 years.”
Many community members who attended the meeting gasped, yelled, and clapped in support of Clemens, while others got so emotional, they had to excuse themselves and leave.
“I thank you for everything you have done for our community, and we’re really going to miss you,” Oceano resident Gina said during public comment with tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry that a few people on this board are very foul people and aren’t for the people of Oceano. I’m hoping there’s a way we can resolve this and get our board back on track.”
OCSD’s legal counsel, Daniel Cheung, resigned after a heated board meeting on Oct. 11, when board member Charles Varni repeatedly ignored Cheung’s legal advice.
“Our firm tendered its resignation to the district on Oct. 13, 2023,” Chueng told New Times in an email. “We have offered to continue our representation of the district until new counsel can be appointed, but no later than Dec. 31, 2023.”
Visibly upset over the loss of both their legal counsel and their general manager in a short period, board member Linda Austin blamed the loss on Varni for creating a hostile work environment.
“Clemens has proven himself over and over to be a competent manager,” Austin said. “It has become increasingly difficult for him to perform his duties with the enormous pressure put on him by Varni and all of his attempts to pull away from what the district was formed to do.”
Community members, such as Chuck Bell, echoed Austin’s sentiment and expressed worry for their community’s future.
“What I’ve seen tonight is a situation of public protest with [Varni] sitting fairly quietly, and he’s really benefited from the chaos that’s been created here,” Bell said during public comment. “As a ratepayer and someone who’s concerned about the water situation in this district, I can say that I’m more concerned about the state of the district and its prospects for the future.”
While some residents asked Clemens to reconsider his retirement, Clemens told New Times that won’t happen under the current circumstances.
“I would definitely stay longer if certain board members weren’t here, but as long as the current board is as it is, I think basically the end of the year is about as long as I’ll be here,” he said.
Shirley Gibson, the board’s vice president, said that she’s sad to see Clemens go, and the work he has done for Oceano will be seen in the community for decades.
“Mr. Clemens has garnered $7 million in grants to replace the 1950s water pipelines for Oceano. He is pursuing other grants, as well as negotiating with the county regarding the cost of Oceano’s fire protection,” Gibson said in an email to New Times. “Mr. Clemens’ focus on providing clean water, sanitation service, and garbage service for residents has never wavered.”
Throughout his four years as general manager, Clemens said, he can fondly look back on many accomplishments he’s proud of, including the grants that helped with the district’s water infrastructure and his ability to cut board expenses and save the district almost $400,000.
“Also just getting all the water [cleaning in place] on track and upgraded and improved, that’s probably my biggest accomplishment,” he told New Times.
Clemens said the search for a new general manager will take place in closed session meetings before it comes to open session and could take anywhere from a month to five months.
“They have an option of hiring someone on an interim basis to kind of fill the gap and allow the board to take their time and hire a permanent replacement, and I’ll recommend that approach,” he said. “But they also could … want to find a permanent general manager now, so we’ll see what the board decides.”
Although retirement came early, Clemens said he’s proud of the last two decades he spent working for in the county, and his list of accomplishments is long.
“I think the things I worked on are going to help people in this entire county for decades to come,” he said. “That’s the wonderful thing about being in infrastructure—you’re able to be on a team that builds things that will help people for the future.” Δ
This article appears in Nov 2-12, 2023.