A week into the job, Bielarski fires two top GRU employees, eliminates sustainability office

Newly appointed Gainesville Regional Utilities Interim General Manager Ed Bielarski fired two top employees and eliminated the Office of Sustainability and Reliance, according to an internal memo sent to GRU employees Thursday and obtained by The Gainesville Sun Friday morning.

Bielarski has fired Chief Telecommunications Officer Lewis Walton and Chief Sustainability and Reliance Officer Eric Walters, according to Thursday’s memo. The move comes just over a week after Bielarski resigned from his position as GRU Authority chair to be made the interim general manager.

He offered the same well wishes to both men in the memo, thanking them for their many years of contributions to the utility and wishing them the best for future endeavors.

“Operating under the [GRU] Authority affords us a generational opportunity to run the business differently than we have in the past,” Bielarski wrote. “I will continue to review our practices and procedures and make changes where necessary. I anticipate the organization will absorb these changes and embrace them as a driving force to better serve our community.”

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In addition to eliminating the two positions, Bielarski has decided that GRUCom employees will report to Chief Information Officer Walter Banks, and that the Office of Sustainability and Reliance employees will be reorganized as Operational Planning and Support, effective immediately.

Bielarski also has removed Brett Goodman from his role as chief operating officer and has reassigned him to a role within the water and wastewater department.

Bielarski called the changes difficult but necessary.

“I know the past few years have been turbulent and stressful for GRU employees,” Bielarski wrote in the memo. “Despite the chaos, you’ve done an amazing job of delivering safe and reliable services to our customers, and, frankly, having been around many of you, I would have expected no less. I trust that your focus will continue to be on providing excellent service as we focus on becoming the utility our community can afford.”

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Ed Bielarski fires two top Gainesville Regional Utilities employees