RIVIERA BEACH, Fla — WPTV has learned that the assistant director of the Riviera Beach Utility Special District is no longer employed there.
The city council voted last month to remove Director Michael Low from his position following the district's handling of water quality concerns last year and multiple health code violations that resulted in $80,000 in fines.
The council did not have the authority to fire Low as a city employee, and at a later meeting, decided that City Manager Jonathan Evans and the assistant director of the utility district, Steven Doyle, would lead the district until a new director was hired.
WATCH: Michael Low walks out of a special meeting before being fired
WPTV learned on July 24 that the Florida Department of Health had notified the city of additional potential health code violations and requested copies of those notices.
TROUBLE BREWING BEFORE FIRING OF UTILITY DIRECTOR
I called Doyle, who confirmed he was no longer with the city, and hung up.
WPTV obtained Doyle's letter of resignation from the city, dated July 31 and effective Aug. 2.
"I have dedicated one hundreds percent of myself to you, the District, city staff, contractors, developers, and the residents of Riviera Beach," Doyle wrote, adding that he missed family funerals and returned prematurely from medical leave "to best serve this city."
On August 1, the city sent a letter to Low, informing him that his employment would be terminated effective the next day. The letter did not give a reason, but thanked him for his service to the city.
"Regretfully, I cannot effectively serve the city given the political unrest and the tumultuous environment that has imposed on those undeserving," Doyle wrote.
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WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE DEPARTMENT?
I didn’t get a response from Mayor Ronnie Felder’s office and Evans said he was unavailable today but willing to sit down with me on a later date.
"I can assure everybody that the city manager has a plan that is presenting to the city council in the next two weeks, and we'll be moving on that plan,“ said Councilman Glen Spiritis.
Spiritis told me he’d rather Evans be the one to share the details of that plan.
When we covered an emergency meeting last month, where the council discussed who will run the utility district, while they look for a new director, Spiritis and his fellow council members had a lot of questions.
“Are you in a place where you're feeling more reassured than you were two weeks ago?” asked WPTV Chief Investigative Reporter Jamie Ostroff.
“Well, after my meetings with the city manager in the last few days, I have more confidence in in the plan and in the direction that we're going,” Spiritis said.
MORE NOTICES FROM THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT?
He told me he’s seen the more recent notices from the health department.
“They're not recent violations, but we still have to correct, make sure that they've already been corrected,” Spiritis said.
“What were they?” asked Ostroff.
“I can't go into the specifics on that right now,” Spiritis responded.
RELATED: Riviera Beach continues to struggle with its Utility District after failing to find a new director
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR WATER QUALITY?
"Do any of them give you pause about the state of the water now?”
“I can't give you the answer to that right now, until I have more conversations with city staff and the city manager," he said, "but I believe, from what I what I can see, I believe that the water is good.“
I asked for those violation notices from the health department two weeks ago as well. After following up twice on that request, I still haven’t gotten a response, but iIwill keep pressing, and keep you informed.
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