Clatskanie Chief Newspaper

City Councilors unsure if relationship can be fixed with city administrator

RAINIER — His critics on the City Council say their relationship with City Administrator Lars Gare is beyond repair after they nearly fired him two weeks ago.

"It wasn’t working on Tuesday and broken on Wednesday," Councilman Sloan Nelson said last week. "Its been going on for a long time, and it’s not something you can recover from."

The Rainier City Council voted 4-3 July 5 in favor of a no confidence measure that also called for the termination of Gare, the city’s chief executive. The action fell one vote short of the number needed to terminate Gare. Councilmen Mike Avent, Michael Cooper, Bill Vilardi and Nelson voted in favor of the proposal.

"Things just aren’t getting done with the current city administrator," Vilardi said. "We’re looking for a better leader."

Avent said a decision on Gare’s future could come "one way or another" during Monday’s regularly scheduled City Council meeting. The city would owe Gare $43,000 in severance pay if he is terminated. His annual salary is $80,000.

Council members have yet to come up with an immediate plan in the event that Gare is relieved of his duties.

"Maybe we step up and shoulder more responsibility, or hire an interim," Avent said. "I don’t know where we go."

Councilors who supported the no confidence proposal said Gare has not reached out to them in an attempt patch things up.

"If you had four people tell you ‘You suck’ and wanted you to be gone, wouldn’t you sit down with each one to figure out how to do better?" Nelson said.

Gare’s critics on the council accuse him of not responding to requests or accomplishing tasks assigned to him in a timely manner, if at all. They say there has been little to no progress on community projects such as the riverfront trail over the last four years. His detractors also questioned whether Gare had tried to become a part of the community since he was hired in November 2007.

He owns a home in Spokane, where his family lives, and regularly commutes back every other weekend, councilors said.

"He leaves Friday and comes back late on Monday," Avent said. "It’s been difficult for him, but I’m looking for someone to be a part of the community."

Gare declined to comment on the current controversy surrounding him and the council. The Clatskanie Chief reported last week that Gare pointed to the sluggish housing market for his inability to sell his home.

The Clatskanie Chief » July 14, 2011

DISPELLING THE DARK with an illumination ceremony tribute that honored fallen Rainier Police Chief Ralph Painter – fireworks bursted over Rainier Riverfront Park as part of Rainier Days in the Park festivities on Friday night, July 8, as a band played the song “Spirit in the Sky,” reportedly one of Chief Painter’s favorites and also the theme for this year’s festival. Fireworks for the event were donated by Western Fireworks Display. (Top Photo)