One of Odessa Utilities Director Kevin Niles’ last acts before leaving for Kansas was to send an email that so concerned City Manager John Beckmeyer he launched an internal investigation.
The investigation did not reveal any improprieties, but Beckmeyer was urged to have a talk with Assistant City Manager Gapi Bernal about his demeanor and to make changes to the committee that reviews requests for qualifications.
Bernal was named interim city manager following the firing of City Manager Michael Marrero. Both Marrero and former City Attorney Natasha Brooks were ousted in 2022. Their firings led to numerous resignations and retirements of city employees and department heads.
Niles, who was hired in July 2023, gave Bernal eight days notice on Aug. 15, but Bernal cut him loose the following day.
In his resignation letter, Niles said he wanted to pursue other opportunities “that align more closely with my personal and professional goals.”
But, according to emails obtained by the Odessa American under the Texas Public Information Act, there was much more to it than that.
Niles sent an email to Beckmeyer three days later saying he had struggled with whether he should say anything about Bernal, but he ultimately decided Beckmeyer needed to know what is going on in Odessa.
“Mr. Bernal is not a leader. Mr. Bernal is a bully. He is a terrible communicator, he lacks leadership skills and his ability to motivate his staff is minimal at best. Sir, I could no longer, in good conscience, continue to let his unethical behavior go without saying something.”
Niles accused Bernal of keeping things from Beckmeyer and prohibiting staff from approaching him. He accused him of disrespecting staff and being unprofessional.
“I have been in the working world for over 35 years and I’ve worked for many managers. However, I’ve never worked for such a poor leader as Mr. Bernal. I also know that this is not the first time you’ve been notified of Mr. Bernal’s poor management and unethical behavior. I’m sure it won’t be the last.”
An open records request for complaints or disciplinary actions regarding Bernal had negative results.
Niles also alleged that Performance Services, Inc. was given an unfair advantage when bidding on a contract for wastewater treatment plant improvements.
Niles wrote, “I also want to let you know that the entire process with PSI was orchestrated and manipulated by Mr. Bernal. He had multiple private meetings with them and continued to let me know that PSI was the direction we would be going. He was completely aware of everything and made sure they won the RFQ.”
The director told Beckmeyer the “majority” of his decision to leave was based on Bernal.
“Sir, Mr. Bernal is a cancer on your organization and it’s only going to spread. People don’t leave bad jobs, people leave bad management,” Niles wrote.
Beckmeyer shared the email with City Attorney Dan Jones stating the allegations about the RFQ process concerned him.
Jones called the allegations “very disturbing” and suggested Kala Hardy, the city’s internal auditor, investigate. He further said that if there were any improprieties, the city should withdraw the award to PSI in an open meeting and explain the reason.
“I am concerned about limiting the liability to the City of Odessa. I would encourage you to advise City Council immediately of this matter,” Jones wrote on Aug. 20.
On Aug. 28, Hardy submitted a two-page memo detailing her investigation, which included speaking with Niles and three other city employees who either evaluated the RFQs or were otherwise involved: Alex Rowlett, interim utilities director, Michael Bara, purchasing manager, and Marissa Rodriguez, director of purchasing.
Hardy noted in her report that Bernal attended the valuation process, although he wasn’t a committee member.
Besides Niles, none of them felt intimidated or influenced by Bernal and all said they felt PSI offered the quickest timeline.
Rowlett said PSI may have had an unfair advantage in that they’d done prior work on the plant and had an established relationship with management.
According to Hardy, Niles mentioned “a rumor about a relationship between Mayor (Javier) Joven, Agapito Bernal and PSI employees. Niles noted that while there is no proof, he is aware of informal meetings and private conversations between Mayor Joven, Agapito Bernal and PSI employees based on information shared by Agapito Bernal.”
Niles said he felt pressured to select PSI and “that the pressure exerted was less about the explicit content of Mr. Bernal’s statements and more about the tone and body language used in conveying those statements.”
In summing up her report, Hardy said the evaluation process was “both fair and legal.”
However, she said in the future non-committee members should not attend the valuation meetings and the city manager should be informed of any vendor meetings that are attended by other city managers.
She also wrote, “Although only Mr. Niles reported feeling pressure from Mr. Bernal, he strongly feels he was influenced by Mr. Bernal’s position as his direct supervisor. It is recommended that Mr. Bernal be made aware of the impact his words and actions had on Mr. Niles to prevent similar situations in the future.”
