Council to discuss replacement after city manager’s firingCouncil members couldn’t overlook improper payment

Kelty, Freeport separate as the city looks for new manager

Tim Kelty looks over water and sewage extension plans Nov. 7, 2018, in Freeport shortly after he took over as city manager. The Freeport City Council voted Wednesday to terminate Kelty’s employment.
Facts file photo
 

FREEPORT — City Council presented a united front in its decision to terminate Tim Kelty after five years as city manager.

With a 5-0 vote, Freeport cut Kelty loose following a closed session regarding his conduct in authorizing a $345,000 payment to Covarrubias for city hall renovations in July.

Now, Kelty is on the hunt for a new job while the city must find a new top administrator.

“I didn’t know what to expect going into that meeting but I knew council had a difficult choice ahead of them,” Kelty told The Facts on Friday.

Before the meeting, Kelty told Councilman Jerry Cain he was ready to accept the consequences of his actions as the city manager, Kelty said.

As part of Mayor Brooks Bass’ motion to terminate Kelty’s employment, a provision was included for the council to also approve a separation agreement to be executed no later than Thursday.

Kelty had not seen the agreement when he spoke with The Facts on Friday, but Councilman George Matamoros said he believed it had been signed. City Attorney David Olson did not return a phone call Friday seeking comment on the status of the separation agreement.

Terms of the agreement have not been released, and The Facts has filed a public records request to receive a copy of it. The city has 10 business days to respond to the request by providing the document or ask the Texas Attorney General’s Office whether it can remain secret.

Kelty’s position with the city has been in doubt since it was revealed he authorized a $345,000 payment to Covarrubias in July to put toward renting equipment for it to undertake City Hall renovations. City Council awarded the Houston company a $1.085 million contract in April as the low bidder on the work.

Per the contract between the city and Covarrubias, the contractor is responsible for providing a performance and payment bond to the city and is not allowed to do any work on the project until the city sends a notice to proceed. Both documents are required before any work can be done or payments can be made under terms of the agreement.

The city had not posted the required bonds at the time Kelty authorized the payment, nor since. Freeport since has moved to terminated the contract with Covarrubias.

Kelty had been suspended with pay since Nov. 21. Council appointed Assistant City Manager Lance Petty as interim city manager during that same meeting.

Kelty said he plans to find another job, but whether that’s in Freeport or elsewhere, he doesn’t yet know.

“In the last five years we’ve accomplished a lot,” he said. “I have a lot to be proud of.”

Among those accomplishments, Kelty said, is the securing of $17 million for upgrades to the city’s water and sewer infrastructure.

“Most of that was in grants but also bond funds were issued to match grant funding,” he said.

During his tenure as city manager, the city spent more than $7.5 million on street repairs, Kelty said.

“I think Freeport residents can take pride in the changes we’ve made,” he said. “I think the downtown with the tourism district and the Economic Development Corp. has some momentum and the Mainstreet Board is on the path to turn things around.”

Council members, when asked separately Friday, said they were pleased with the work Kelty had done as city manager before he made the improper payment in July.

“I believe he was doing a good job,” Matamoros said. “I didn’t have any issues with him and how he was running the city.”

For Matamoros, the deciding factor in voting to terminate Kelty’s employment came not from the payment itself, but from the amount of time between when it was made and when the council was notified of the problem.

Councilman Winston Rossow also stated he thought Kelty had done a good job leading the city.

“I hate to see anybody lose their job, but the payment happened so it had to happen,” Rossow said. “I know he did not maliciously do what he did, he just did not cross all his Ts and dot all his Is. It’s his job to make sure all that’s squared away.”

Not including the situation with Covarrubias, Rossow said he thought Kelty was a good guy who had the city’s best interests at heart.

Councilman Jeff Peña, who frequently criticized Kelty’s job performance during City Council meetings and in videos on his Facebook page, said he did not know what to expect going into Wednesday’s meeting.

“Until the yeas and nays were verbalized, I didn’t know what the vote would be,” he said.

As for Kelty’s job performance, Peña wouldn’t comment.

“I would just recommend anybody do a public information request on performance reviews,” he said.

While the city’s next steps are not clear, there is already a plan to possibly promote Petty from interim city manager to the top spot.

The agenda for Monday night’s regular council meeting, released Friday, lists a closed session item for “Appointment of City Manager Lance Petty.”

“Promoting Petty is something we will discuss,” Matamoros said. “I’m not sure if it will be permanent or to continue on as interim, though.”

For Kelty, the ending is bittersweet.

“I will always treasure my time here and the friends I’ve made,” he said.

Bass and Cain could not be reached for comment Friday.