WATSONVILLE — Watsonville City Manager Charles Montoya turned in his resignation to the city council Wednesday.
His resignation will take effect on Aug. 1. Assistant City Manager Matt Huffaker will serve as acting city manager following Montoya’s departure.
“This community has been exceptional to me,” Montoya wrote in his resignation letter. “We were at different ends of the spectrums in the beginning, but now we are all the same — just people trying to do the right thing for the community.”
Last week, Montoya accepted the city manager position in Avondale, Ariz. That city council approved his contract on Monday.
In an interview with the Pajaronian, Montoya said he was “heartbroken” to be leaving Watsonville, but added that he hopes he was leaving “because things are going in a direction the community wants it to go.”
“The reason I’m leaving is not about family,” Montoya said. “I can’t say it’s about the job. Maybe it’s just time for me to move on.
“I will miss this community. I’ve put my heart into it, I’ve gave every effort I could. There will always be those critics. You can’t make everybody happy. At some point I have to take care of me.”
Montoya was hired by the Watsonville City Council in October 2015 to replace Carlos Palacios, who served as city manager for more than 18 years.
Prior to joining Watsonville, Montoya served as town manager for Florence, Ariz. for two years. He also previously served as finance director/treasurer for the Town of Castle Rock in Colorado for four years.
His contract was set to expire in November 2023. His salary is $222,000, in addition to benefits.
In the letter, Montoya described his “pleasure of working with Mayors [Nancy] Bilicich, [Felipe] Hernandez, [Oscar] Rios and [Lowell] Hurst,” as well as “the logical conscience side” of Councilwoman Trina Coffman-Gomez, saying they, as well as other community members, have “held the conscience of this community and this is why so many things were made possible.”
He also thanked the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce, Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds Foundation, Watsonville Pilots Association, Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau and Pajaro Valley Unified School District for working with the city during his time here.
Montoya pointed to a number of projects and events that took place over the last three years, including the establishment of the Fire in the Sky event on the Fourth of July and the downtown improvement project.
“In three years this community has prospered and changed in a better way, I believe,” he said.
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Council reacts
Mayor Lowell Hurst said the city council will move on and continue to “listen to the public and focus on community priorities.” He praised the city’s “resilient deep pool of talent and a dedicated crew who will continue to step up and serve the city’s residents.”
“I hate to see him go, but we wish him well,” he said. “A lot was accomplished in a short time. Some say too much, others, not enough. But it’s hard to make everyone happy.”
Councilwoman Rebecca Garcia, however, said she was “not disappointed that Charles is leaving Watsonville.”
In November, Garcia said she asked for an evaluation of Montoya’s performance, but her request was not granted.
“I have documentation of his lack of communication with the council, with business people, with nonprofit personnel, with community members at-large, and with me personally,” she said.
According to Garcia, Montoya had appointed the assistant city manager and public works director as acting city manager “12 times in two years” due to his absence from his job.
“I believe that his lack of communication and his absences created a disconnect in meeting the needs of Watsonville,” she said.
Garcia did give Montoya credit for “establishing relations” with organizations such as the Chamber and Farm Bureau.
Councilman Felipe Hernandez said while he respected Montoya’s decision, he wished Montoya “would reconsider and stay with us.”
“We have accomplished a lot in three short years,” Hernandez said. “With Mr. Montoya’s guidance we have approved 400 new homes, significant job creation, bringing our unemployment rate to a record low 6.9 percent, we’ve diversified our local economy, began to improve bike and pedestrian safe infrastructure and finished our first phase of our downtown revitalization.”
He added that he believes the city is in “good hands” with Huffaker as the acting city manager.
“Whatever the outcome, I wish Mr. Montoya the best,” Hernandez said. “Wherever he ends up at, he’ll certainly be an asset to the community.”
The council will meet in closed session on Wednesday to discuss the future of the city manager position.
“I have absolute confidence in our staff to move Watsonville forward as we seek another city manager,” Garcia said.
