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June 16, 2022
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<br />over Mr. Pace leaving and why the City Manager allowed this to happen. I was later
<br />informed by a trusted and dependable person that the City Manager was influenced
<br />by a Council Member who believed that providing Mr. Pace additional compensation
<br />was not merited. Ms. Jones never consulted with the Council to see what could be
<br />done to retain Mr. Pace, a trusted, respected, and beloved part of this community, as
<br />the Deputy City Manager. Ms. Jones should have at least apprised Council and not
<br />just a Council member of this matter giving Council an opportunity to inquire on this
<br />matter. But she chose not to do so and a person with much institutional knowledge
<br />and integrity who would be an asset to the city and Mr. Pace was allowed to leave.
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<br />2. The second issue occurred during September of 2021. At the City Council meeting on
<br />September 14, 2021, Mayor Shannon Glover announced that, “we” have a press
<br />conference that will be coming up and it will be titled Portsmouth Speaks on Tuesday,
<br />September 21 at 12 noon. He further went on to state persons and organizations that
<br />would be present including the Mayor, City Council, the City Manager, Chief of Police,
<br />Fire Chief, our Commonwealth Attorney, Sheriff, VA State Police, FBI and perhaps
<br />the Assistant U.S. Atty’s Office. The Mayor called the press conference without
<br />notifying or informing Council and invited local, state, and federal agencies without the
<br />knowledge of Council (This would be the equivalent of the Chair of the School Board
<br />calling a press conference to announce a major initiative and inviting Federal, State,
<br />and local officials without informing nor discussing with the school board). At the
<br />September 14 meeting Vice mayor Barnes and myself expressed concern about the
<br />meeting not following procedure. Council rules provide the guidance that Council
<br />follows for Regular and Special Meetings. Neither of these was followed. The City
<br />Manager was aware that this meeting was not called according to proper procedure.
<br />City manager Jones attended the press conference, which was held in Council
<br />Chambers, knowing that this was not a Council initiative on Crime. Because of failure
<br />to follow proper procedure, a majority of Council did not attend and was maligned by
<br />Council members, community persons, and the media. This caused concern because
<br />again, Ms. Jones was not acting on the behalf of Council, but rather the Mayor, who
<br />according to the City Charter represents one vote. Ms. Jones publicly demonstrated
<br />her willingness to follow the Mayor and not Council even when proper procedure is
<br />ignored and created a misrepresentation of Council to the public.
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<br />After these two issues, I met with Ms. Jones in Sept. of 2021 and expressed my concerns.
<br />It was at this time that Ms. Jones assured me that the Mayor was not influencing her. As
<br />evidence of this, Ms. Jones shared how the Mayor tried to persuade her to transfer the
<br />land located at 700 Crawford St. to a certain developer through the Economic
<br />Development Authority, even though, Council had voted not to issue a use permit to the
<br />developer. This raised more concern about Ms. Jones because she had not shared this
<br />information with the Council. It was during this meeting that I shared with Ms. Jones my
<br />loss of confidence in her leadership as City Manager. Ms. Jones was definitely aware of
<br />the nature and implications of my concerns. Moreover, I thought that someone with her
<br />experience as a City Manager would have been more sensitive with managing a Council
<br />which appointed her by a 4-3 vote.
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<br />3. The third issue occurred in November of 2021. On November 16, 2021, Ms. Jones
<br />along with Deputy City Manager Robert Moore attended a meeting of the Economic
<br />Development Authority. At this meeting, the EDA went into a closed meeting to
<br />discuss the disposition of an approximately 30-acre site located at 409 McLean Street,
<br />a 30-acre site located behind Tidewater Community College. At this meeting, the EDA
<br />passed an Amendment to a Purchase Agreement between EDA and purchaser. The
<br />resolution allowed the purchaser to buy the 30-acre site, which had an assessed value
<br />of $3,455,960, for $156,570. Although this transaction commenced approximately 3
<br />years before Ms. Jones became City Manager, Ms. Jones did not inform Council of
<br />this significant devaluation of the land. Ms. Jones should have made Council aware
<br />of the nature of such a transaction. I found it highly troubling that Ms. Jones may not
<br />have been aware of this significant devaluation of land due to either staff not informing
<br />her, her failure to inquire, or because upon becoming City Manager on April 12, 2021,
<br />according to the minutes of the EDA meetings, Ms. Jones failed to attend the April 20,
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