He's out

By Cindy Landrum  

APRIL 22, 2010 3:11 p.m. (0)

Much of the speculation this week about why Greenville City Manager Jim Bourey fell from grace centered around the city’s failed deal to buy the former Hitachi plant, a 53-acre complex on Mauldin Road that has been empty since the Japanese television tube manufacturer closed up shop in 2007.

Councilwoman Amy Ryberg Doyle, the only council member to vote against accepting Bourey’s resignation, hinted at this as she explained her vote.

After reciting a list of things accomplished during Bourey’s tenure, she said the city manager could have been more forthcoming about the cost of buying and renovating the plant into a city operations center. The building also was to provide space for electric bus manufacturer Proterra until its facility at ICAR was completed.

“I do believe council needed more transparency from you regarding the Hitachi building opportunity,” Doyle said to Bourey. “But more importantly, was the public money ever at risk? No. Was the safety of the public ever at risk? No.”

Councilman David Sudduth said the decision to accept Bourey’s resignation was based on no one situation, but it is true he believes the council came close to making “a horrible mistake” in buying the abandoned factory.

Sudduth said originally the council was told it would take $3.5 million to renovate the building. By the time the deal unraveled, the upfitting cost had increased to $14 million, he said.

Sudduth said he never received a good answer on why the cost quadrupled.

“The information was not as complete and not as timely as I would have liked,” he said, something that had been a frustration of his for some time. “Hitachi was the more recent, high price tag example.”

The Hitachi site is owned by Bridgeport Properties of Mauldin. A Cleveland, Ohio, address is listed in county property records.

Doyle said the council should have known moving the public works facility from the flood plain on Hudson Street would carry a large price tag.

“I’m focusing more on what got done, not how they got done,” she said. “I think we did miss some deals. The Hitachi project was a loss. But if we’re not striking out some, we’re not swinging for the fences.”

Bourey said in an interview Wednesday the cost increased because additional and unexpected things had to be done such as replacing the building’s alarm system, wiring for computers and installing a $1 million air handling system.

“Obviously, there were surprises,” Bourey said.

Part of the building was supposed to be used by electric bus maker Proterra while its facility at ICAR was being constructed. That was one of the incentives the city used to lure the company.

The city has identified space it will lease for the company, but Bourey said papers haven’t been signed yet. He would not disclose the location, saying only it is within the city limits.

Bourey said his resignation, effective June 30, was forced because City Council decided he was no longer a good fit. “Councils have to feel very comfortable with a city manager and I don’t think they do,” Bourey said. “There was a general sense among council that it was time to make a move.”

But Sudduth said it would take more than that for him to take such a big step.

“I would never make a decision of this magnitude just based on a personality mismatch,” he said.

Mayor Knox White said no single issue caused the split.

“I had been something of a referee for some time. Over the past four years, challenges arose. That doesn’t mean they were continuous. But they would percolate up,” White said. “It wasn’t getting any better and it was starting to interfere with decision-making.”

Under a separation agreement, Bourey will receive six months severance pay in the amount of $83,500 plus the city will pay health, life and disability insurance premiums and a car allowance for six months.

The agreement contains a clause that prohibited Bourey and the City Council from making negative comments about each other.

“I feel good about so many things the city accomplished, and I’m sad it’s over,” said Bourey, Greenville’s city manager since 2004. “The resignation was my decision, but it was forced.”

Bourey said he became aware the council no longer wanted him when it asked for his resignation two weeks ago.

Bourey wouldn’t say who on council wanted him to resign. “I’m not going to name names,” he said.

Some council members were furious with Bourey last year after he revealed the city would have to dip into its reserve fund to cover a shortfall on state revenue that put the city’s reserve fund below the council-mandated 20 percent of the budget.

Sudduth said it’s important for a city manager to be adaptive in his management style as the council changes. It’s also important for all council members to be provided the same information, he said.

The council met in executive session for about 30 minutes before holding a voice vote on whether to accept the resignation. Before the executive session, some Greenville business leaders and downtown developers told council they supported Bourey, who sat quietly.

Rick Erwin, a Greenville restaurateur, asked the council to reconsider. “We are all very, very concerned,” he said.

Erwin told the council he was concerned the economy would make it difficult to attract a replacement with Bourey’s qualifications and successes.

“This is the major leagues,” he said. “If there’s a conflict, let’s work together.”

They said they were concerned a change could jeopardize progress in the city.

“There is so much going on that doesn’t need to be fractured,” said Bo Aughtry, president of the commercial division of Windsor-Aughtry.

White told them he was confident the city’s senior leadership and Deputy City Manager John Castile, who will serve as interim city manager until Bourey’s permanent replacement is named, are able to run the city.

“We won’t miss a beat,” he said.