Malinen to retire from Bear Valley CSD post
Directors of the Bear Valley Community Services District emerged from a two-hour closed session on March 9 with the news that General Manager William Malinen will retire in four months.
The board’s closed session began at 4 p.m. with four items — two were related to litigation and one was to confer with the district’s labor negotiators with the administrative and supervisory unit of the district’s public works department.
The fourth item was labeled “Public Employment, Government Section 54957, Title: General Manager” on the agenda. Section 54957 is part of the state’s open meeting law, commonly referred to as the Brown Act. It is a section that allows governing boards to meet in closed session to discuss a wide range of matters.
Immediately following the opening of the board’s regular meeting at 6 p.m., President John Grace asked the board’s attorney, Donald Davis, if there was anything to report from the closed session. He said yes, then asked the general manager for a report.
Malinen said there was a brief conversation during the closed session, during which he provided the board with a letter stating his intention to retire. He said he will remain with the district for the next four months with an aim of getting through budget preparation and other transition activities.
“I thank the board and the residents and mostly our staff for their support over my last four and a half years here,” Malinen said. He concluded by asking to be excused for the remainder of the meeting.
“I want to thank Mr. Malinen for his candor and his service,” Grace said. And the general manager received a standing ovation from the audience, with many reaching out to shake his hand as he left the meeting room.
Malinen has been with the district since September 2018. He previously worked in top city management positions in California, Washington, Minnesota and Missouri. While working for the district he became one of only 49 special district managers in California to receive Certified Special District Manager Designation by the Special District Leadership Foundation.
None of the current board were serving at the time Malinen was hired. Grace and Vice President Charles Jensen were first elected in 2020. Director Terry Quinn was first elected in November 2018 and reelected last November. Directors Geva Frevert and Martin Hernandez were first elected last November.
GM TURNOVER
Malinen has served longer than any Bear Valley CSD general manager in the last decade.
According to news reports, he replaced David Edmonds who began working for the district in June 2014 and went on medical leave in May 2018.
In May 2018, the district announced that Edmonds was leaving due to a health condition that would require several surgeries and that it was unlikely he would be able to return to work. The board president at the time applauded the “professionalism, energy and passion” he said Edmonds brought to the job.
Just over two years later, in late June 2020, the Kern County District Attorney’s office announced that following its investigation, Edmonds had been charged on suspicion of eight counts of felony embezzlement by a public officer.
According to the Kern County Superior Court website, all eight counts against Edmonds were “dismissed in the furtherance of justice” on Dec. 21, 2021.
Court records also show that Edmonds sued the district for breach of contract on March 9, 2021. The district filed a cross complaint on July 15, 2021. The filing alleges breach of contract, conflict of interest, constructive fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and other complaints. Both parties asked for a jury trial and the case is currently set for trial in November.
Before Edmonds joined the district, David Powell was interim GM briefly, following the resignation of Jeff Hodge in early January 2014.
Hodge was hired in January 2013 and served only a year. Long-time district staffer Sandy Janzen had been interim GM after General Manager John Yeakley became ill and left work in May 2012. Yeakley had been with the district since at least 2001. The board terminated him in July 2012 and he died the next month.
WHAT’S NEXT?
The board discussed the need to fill the GM position and may hire a recruiting firm. Their consensus seemed to be to keep some other positions vacant until the new GM is in place.
Kristy McEwen, who is director of human resources, assistant to the general manager and secretary to the board, was asked to research options.