GRAND JURY CITIZEN COMPLAINT FORM

TO: GRAND JURY

P.O. Box 4910
SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA 93403

IMPORTANT: The Citizen Complaint Form should be prepared and filed with the Grand Jury only after all
attempts to resolve the issue have been exhausted. The Grand Jury has no authority to investigate complaints
pending before a court of law. The Grand Jury does not necessarily investigate all complaints received.
From:

Otis Page
606 Myrtle St.
Arroyo Grande, CA 93420
Concerned Citizen of Arroyo Grande


Julie Tacker
P.O. Box 6070
Los Osos, CA 93412
Government Watchdog/Citizen Activist

This complaint is against:
Arroyo Grande City Council

Complaint: Be specific; include names and dates. Describe the basis of your complaint in your
own words. All information is confidential. You may attach additional pages if necessary and
other relevant materials.
Basis for Complaint: This complaint addresses the incidents surrounding the events of
July 3, the subsequent cover up and the Arroyo Grande City Councils unwillingness to
conduct an independent investigation into all aspects of the incident and subsequent
efforts to cover it up.
At its meeting of August 26, 2014 (agenda attached) the City Council unanimously
agreed to a hold special session regarding the Adams/ McClish incident and
subsequent events. The video of the statements made by Council members confirms
that fact (link to meeting).
Council member Tim Brown made the distinction during the meeting of August 26
between investigations of the facts of the matter as compared to any Closed Session
related to personnel discipline. The council agreed by consensus to schedule a Special
Meeting.
According to City Clerk, Kelly Wetmore, (emails attached) the earliest the council could
meet was their regularly scheduled meeting of September 9 and the item would be
discussed in Closed Session (agenda attached).
When the agenda was published the item was schedule as a Closed Session for a
Performance Review of Adams.
PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION pursuant to
Government Code Section 54957: Title: City Manager.
The only other item to be considered in that Closed Session was its labor negotiations
related to the years long Police Officers Association(POA). Interestingly Mr. Adams
was not listed as the negotiator as has been the case previously. Presenting the
question if relations between Adams and police staff have been compromised by the
investigation, cover up or gag order.
Citizens of Arroyo Grande expected an open session item where they could participate
in a staff discussion related to an independent investigation that would have a thorough
staff report that would be expected to include names of firms and the rates they charge
and an expected financial impact for such an independent investigation. It became
obvious from the posting of the agenda on Friday, September 5; the fix was in to avoid
a discussion of the matter as promised.
The closed session was set for the very end of the September 9 meeting this is a
typical tactic to deter citizens from participating, attending, and commenting because of
the lateness of the matter.
Only two citizens spoke during the regular public comment at the beginning of the
meeting expressing their concerns that the promise of an open discussion of the matter
was not on the agenda as promised in August 26 council discussion.
The council was wrong in not addressing the matter in an open session:
At the beginning of the closed session Mayor Tony Ferrara asked City Attorney Tim
Carmel to state the reason for a closed session as compared to open session.
In responding to Ferraras request, Carmel gave the personnel confidentially rationale
(Government Code Section 54957) as an answer as it addresses what the council
does in disciplining Adams.
Carmel's answer denies the issue of the cover-up by parsing the issue from a review of
the facts of the matter, as promised in the meeting of August 26, to the personal
discipline of Adams. Carmels answer avoids the larger question of implied guilt caused
by the cover-up.
In condoning this false rationale by Carmel and by denying the open session on the
matter as promised on August 26, Mayor Ferrara and the council misled the citizens of
Arroyo Grande.
What was expected in an open session item before the public was a staff report that
would have included several firms that do these types of investigations, estimated costs,
what city funds would pay for such an investigation.
The Council would then be expected to take public comment and engage in
deliberations and make a decision to proceed with or not to embark on an independent
investigation in full view of the public.
Instead, in what appears to be another Brown Act violation, the council made a decision
in Closed Session without a formal vote and formal report out of Closed Session, saying
only that there was No Reportable Action followed by a comment from City Attorney,
Tim Carmel stating there would be no further investigation. These are two separate
discussions, each needing separate action, but appear to have been combined into one.
This complaint begs for the judgment that the facts relative to the Adams/McClish issue
be reviewed in a legally noticed Open Council Meeting -- with the objective to ascertain
whether an independent legal counsel (an attorney) be retained for budgeted
depositions -- so that the truth is established by sworn testimony on the incident and
cover-up of the incident involving the Adams/McClish affair.
Background:
The City of Arroyo Grande needs an independent investigation into what began at the
soft opening, as characterized by KSBY news (August 22), of Roberts Restaurant in
the Village of Arroyo Grande on Thursday, July 3. City Manager, Steve Adams and
Community Development Director, Teresa McClish, enjoyed dinner and some wine,
according to their own accounting, and reported in the August 21 web-edition of the
Tribune, they also went to Roster Kitchen, another restaurant/bar in the village, and
enjoyed yet another glass of wine. Their accounting of the evening included having tea
in Mr. Adams office in order to be safe driving home.
Both restaurants in the village of Arroyo Grande close at 10:00pm and according to the
Arroyo Grande Police Department (AGPD) CAD Event Detail at 11:04PM Dana
McClish, the husband of Teresa McClish, called AGPD to request that officers check the
City Hall parking lot to see if his wifes vehicle, a 2013 light green Ford Focus, was still
there. He told the dispatcher his wife had a pacemaker. He explained that she had
called him one hour earlier to say she was leaving work and that her cell phone was
dying, but she had not yet arrived at their home in Morro Bay. This puts Teresas call to
Dana at right around 10:00pm.
Police were dispatched just one minute later and arrived in the village at 11:07pm. Over
the course of the next 30 minutes officers found the car in the city hall parking lot, ran its
license plate to confirm ownership to be that of McClish. One officer begins checking
the building; all lights appear to be off. He telephones McClishs work number, there is
no answer. At the same time another officer inquires at Ralph & Duanes, a bar just two
blocks west of city hall and the closest establishment open after 10:00pm. He doesnt
find the couple. Meanwhile a third officer calls Five Cities Fire Authority (FCFA), Code
11-98 (meet officer); he relays the need to access the Knox Box, a small, wall-mounted
safe that holds building keys for emergency personnel to retrieve in emergency
situations. FCFA records reveal they were dispatched at 11:38pm, moments later,
when the first officer makes contact with the couple. Characterized as disheveled
(McMahon/Tribune interview) the officer reports C4 (Code 4, No further assistance
needed) and McClish will contact husband. (AGPD Dispatch record attached).
Memos written by 5 police officers were released to the press on September 4
(attached) confirm the awkward situation with Adams and McClish and reveal Mr.
Adams tried to say Mrs. McClish was not in the building and later admitting she
was. None of the reports mention any evidence of tea, intoxication, or an explanation
by Adams or McClish that suggest they were too impaired to have driven home at any
time.
McClish would then be responsible for calling her worried husband as the officer who
had called FCFA now calls off the four firefighters in route at 11:43pm and Engine 66
returns the station on Traffic Way, the record shows. (FCFA Dispatch record
attached).
Arroyo Grande surveillance video referenced by Cal Coast News on September 9,
2014 and AG City Hall Open/Close Alarm System Activity Report (attached) reveal
inconsistencies in the story as explained by Mr. Adams in a statement prepared
August 21.
The AGPD dispatch report indicates that the incident was not entirely resolved until
12:09am on July 4. Ironically, July 4 was the day that Mr. Adams 10.5 percent raise
took effect, taking his annual salary up to $157,000.
Realizing that police and firefighters come upon the most uncomfortable situations in
the line of duty, this particular uncomfortable situation must have been extremely
awkward to warrant a Special Closed Session meeting of the City Council agenda to be
posted the following Monday for Tuesday.
Under the guise of Performance Review for both the City Manager and Legal Counsel,
the meeting minutes reflect the city councils July 8 meeting was extended by an hour
and half, and didnt adjourn until 11:48pm. Meeting minutes also indicate No
Reportable Action took place that night, but City Attorney Michael McMahon, of Carmel
& Naccasha, LLP, told the Tribune that he was tasked to investigate the incident. Yet,
McMahons July invoice indicates he went to work on his investigation prior to the
Councils direction in Closed Session on July 8 (agenda and minutes attached).
The invoice reflects McMahon conducted interviews, but with no sworn testimony, with
Adams, McClish and the officers involved beginning July 6 (a Sunday) and does not
delineate the completion of the investigation. Yet, McMahon generated no written
report and estimated the city would pay $1,254.00 for his investigation as reported in
the same Tribune article. The Director Team (including Adams, McClish, Carmel,
interim Fire Chief Heath, Police Chief Annibali and several other AG staff was
summoned for an 11:00am meeting on July 7, 2014 for a special confidential meeting,
most likely related to the July 3 incident and investigation. (See July 7 email from
Adams to Director Team.)
The AG City Councils July 22 regular meeting was cancelled and the August 8 filing
deadline for candidates to run for city council and mayor passed. We are aware of at
least one potential candidate that was deterred from running for mayor by Mr. Adams,
convincing him the city was in good hands with Mayor Ferrara (who was in line for the
League of Cities presidency) leadership. Had the incident of July 3 been made public
other candidates would likely have stepped forward to unseat the incumbents who have
aided and bedded in the cover up. The cover up has affected the political climate.
Moral has dropped to an all-time low among city workers, with the recent revelations
surrounding the Adams/McClish matter; the city is clearly not well. Several years ago a
police officer was discharged by Adams due to a personal relationship with a
subordinate, in the instant case; it appears Adams has his own personal relationship
with a subordinate.
When the August 12 City Council agenda (attached) was posted, there was nothing on
it to indicate that any item related to the July 3 incident, the McMahon investigation, or
any performance reviews would be discussed in open or closed session. Irony strikes
twice; at this same meeting the council approved an Amendment to Legal Agreement;
awarding a 3% increase across the board to the legal firm the city has contracted with
for the last 21 years, Carmel & Naccasha, LLP.
A week later, on August 19, and nearly six weeks post incident, Cal Coast News (CCN)
breaks the story. The story is news because public resources, including over an hour
of no fewer than four police personnel, some fire personnel, and County Sheriff dispatch
are caught up in what appears to be pleasure, not business, at Arroyo Grande City
Hall.
CCNs reporting describes much more than an uncomfortable situation that could be
misconstrued (Adams characterization of the event) giving the impression reporters
Karen Velie and Daniel Blackburn spoke directly with officers involved.
The Tribune and KSBY then cover the story giving Adams a chance to tell his side of
things where he is accusatory of the responding officers as if they "can benefit by
damaging my reputation." Suggesting the POA would gain an upper hand in
negotiations by embarrassing Mr. Adams.
The KSBY story runs a peculiar statement from City Council Member Tim Brown saying
he, cannot discuss anything that happened during a closed door session, but does
say, the council voted and the majority of the members decided not to pursue further
investigation.
Mr. Browns quote adds to the incidents inconsistency; at that time there had been no
other Closed Session that would allow for any further discussion on this personnel
matter since July 8, and certainly not a vote. Votes in closed session are required to
be reported out; no such report has been given. When asked August 24, city staff said,
The indication that there was a vote was incorrect. (Kelly Wetmore, email, August
25).
The item in closed session August 12 was to discuss labor negotiations related to the
Arroyo Grande Police Officers' Association. The relationship between police and the city
has been tenuous since the events of July 3; some police officers have reported that
they were told not to discuss the event in effect, a gag order. Further evidence that
the police were intimidated into keeping the story quiet was the fact that the story was
not told until some 6 weeks after the July 3 incident.
If the August 12 forty-four minute closed session conversation included the events of
July 3rd as part of this discussion the council may have violated the California Ralph M.
Brown Act. How officers handled the situation that Adams states, resulted in an
appearance that could be easily misinterpreted that was brought upon themselves, and
has nothing to do with the terms of employment for the entire police force.
The public record shows many inconsistencies in the story as the city appears to be
attempting to change history with a subsequent cover up.
As the old saying goes, the cover up is always worse than the crime and in the instant
case, the cover up appears to involve the Mayor, City Council, City Legal Counsel, the
Tribune and KSBY to confuse the public into believing this was merely an
uncomfortable situation (Tribune August 21) that had been misconstrued (KSBY
August 22).
The history and background of this event, as stated here, is merely "the tip of the ice
berg" on a story that requires honest examination and scrutiny stripped of all the "cover"
that has masked and hidden this from the citizens. We pray for the Grand Jury's
objective assessment in the name of "transparency" where the cover-up" in this matter
has obscured and hidden the truth.
Is there any current or pending litigation regarding this matter? (If yes, please
explain):
Unknown
Please list the agencies, officials, or persons contacted previously to attempt to
resolve this complaint, including the names, titles, phone numbers, contact
dates, and resulting action or disposition.
Arroyo Grande City Council.
How would you like to see this matter resolved?
We would like the Grand Jury to investigate both the events of July 3 and the
subsequent cover up by city officials and staff.
DECLARATION:
THE INFORMATION PRESENTED IN THIS COMPLAINT FORM IS TRUE, CORRECT
AND COMPLETE TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE.

DATE: September 15, 2014

SIGNATURE:
Otis Page
and

Attachments:

City Council Agenda, August 26, 2014
Link to meeting video, August 26, 2014
City Clerk, emails
City Council Agenda, September 9, 2014
KSBY August 22, 2014
Tribune, August 21, 2014
AGPD dispatch report
AG Police Officer memos
FCFA dispatch report
Cal Coast News September 9, 2014 report on surveilance video
AG City Hall Open/Close Alarm System Activity Report
Steve Adams prepared statement, August 21, 2014
Carmel & Naccasha, LLC, July 2014 invoice
City Council Agenda and Minutes July 8, 2014
Email from Adams to Director Team, July 7, 2014
City Council Agenda and Minute, August 12, 2014
Cal Coast News, August 19, 2014
City Clerk email, August 25, 2014
Additional documents and information may be found here:
http://www.integrityslo.org/arroyo-grande/20140703-sex-scandal