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REMARKS BY MARK NUAIMI AT AUGUST 20, 2013 COUNCIL MEETING WHEN HE WAS DISMISSED

“Mayor and council, good evening up here. I thank the Town Council and the community for the opportunity to have served as town manager for the past three years.

It’s never easy to part ways, and I completely understand why Town Council has found that a change of leadership is necessary at this time. I also want to thank the men and women who have been family for me this past three years. I count myself blessed to have associated with the Yucca Valley family of employees. There is no finer group of professionals who truly serve out of the love of their community.

We accomplished much as a team, from the general plan update to bringing forward $10 million in capital improvement projects. In three short years we’ve brought a 75-unit affordable senior housing unit from a request for proposal, to entitlement, securing tax credits and county funding, to actual ground breaking this past week. That’s unheard of for a town our size. All this was accomplished while we were cutting an organization that had already been severely reduced in size; implemented pension reform and benefits overall long before many in the state; and brought to life the financial infrastructure challenges that face this community—all done while feeling the effects of the challenging political climate. Looking back, I wish I had done more to address the tone of debate in the community. As the town manager, I fell short in realizing soon enough just how divided this community was. Worse yet, some of my approach actually contributed to the climate that has so many wanting my head on a platter this evening. To that end, I want to apologize to those on the council and in the community who I have offended. Bull in the china shop is how many would describe how I come across, but know that I meant no harm. I really just believed in what we were proposing and advocating strongly for this community and for the town.

It’s also important to understand that to some in this community, this is simply politics; it was a game of sorts. It was a contact sport where there were no rules and no boundaries; but to me however, it was my livelihood, my career, my profession, and my family. To those who were playing the game behind the scenes, thank you bringing out the worst in me. Looking back now, I see the areas of my personality that need to be refined, that need steel. Oftentimes, we’re told that the integrity and strength of the vessel is best tested under heat and agitation. Well, I know where this vessel needs repair and I’m grateful for going through this process to finally realize it.

Every morning I’ve been reading “Streams in the Desert” during my quiet times with the Lord. I thought I’d share a passage from this morning’s message. Quote: “If God has called us to His highest and best, each of us will have a time of crisis, when all our resources will fail and when we face either ruin or something better than we ever dreamed. But before we can receive the blessing, we must rely on God’s infinite help. We must be willing to let go, surrendering completely to Him, and cease from our own wisdom, strength, and righteousness. We must be crucified with Christ and yet alive in Him. God knows how to lead us to the point of crisis, and He knows how to lead us through it.”

I pray that God blesses each and every one of you on the Council, in this town family, and in this community. If our paths cross in the future, I trust that you will see a stronger Mark in the coming months and years, a more complete vessel whose cracks and imperfections were tested in the heat of Yucca Valley.

Thank you for this time and may God bless each and every one of you. Thank you Town Council.” (applause)

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