George Tindall

City Manager George Tindall will retire May 7, city officials announced Monday. Tindall, 60, is credited with promoting the Harbor Corridor commercial expansion, updating the city's general plan, reorganizing the Garden Grove Sanitary District and improving infrastructure such as storm drains and traffic signals. Tindall took the job in 1988 after serving as the city's assistant city manager and public works director. The Anaheim native said he plans to spend more time with his family and on hobbies and will reestablish a consulting business.

City Manager George Tindall will retire May 7, city officials announced Monday. Tindall, 60, is credited with promoting the Harbor Corridor commercial expansion, updating the city's general plan, reorganizing the Garden Grove Sanitary District and improving infrastructure such as storm drains and traffic signals. Tindall took the job in 1988 after serving as the city's assistant city manager and public works director. The Anaheim native said he plans to spend more time with his family and on hobbies and will reestablish a consulting business.

The City Council on Monday night named George Tindall to serve as interim city manager while a search continues for a successor to Delbert Powers. Tindall, 44, has been an assistant city manager for the past four years. Powers, 51, has announced his resignation effective April 1, ending 25 years of service with the city, including the last eight as city manager.

The City Council on Monday night named George Tindall to serve as interim city manager while a search continues for a successor to Delbert Powers. Tindall, 44, has been an assistant city manager for the past four years. Powers, 51, has announced his resignation effective April 1, ending 25 years of service with the city, including the last eight as city manager.

Officials have selected two finalists for chief of police. About 25 law-enforcement officials applied for the job. One candidate is from Northern California, and the other is from another state, City Manager George Tindall said. The position came open last October when Stan Knee left the city of 156,000 to become police chief in Austin, Texas. Final interviews will be held Tuesday, with a decision expected soon after.

Former Albuquerque Police Chief Joe Polisar has accepted the top spot in the Garden Grove Police Department, officials said Thursday. Polisar will begin work June 1, pending final contract negotiations expected to be completed for the City Council meeting Tuesday. City Manager George Tindall said Polisar was one of two final candidates for the chief's job. Polisar accepted the position Wednesday for the 155-officer department.

The City Council has decided against a plan to privatize the water department. Officials began studying the possibility of privatizing the department after being faced with a $6-million budget deficit last year. A study of proposals from private companies, however, indicated that no revenue would be gained by such a move, City Manager George Tindall said. Nearby Westminster has also studied and rejected a water privatization plan.

Chinese delegates who represent the municipal government of the Shandong/Yunnan province are visiting the city today to learn more about Garden Grove's planning processes, environmental protection policies and issues related to hygiene, clean water systems and waste water management. The visiting group will meet at 9 a.m. in the Community Meeting Center, 11300 Stanford Ave. Then some of the delegates will visit the Lampson Reservoir.

Veteran Garden Grove firefighter Warren Hartley has been named the department's new chief starting Jan. 5. He replaces Vincent F. Bonacker, a 20-year department veteran who will become fire chief in Orange. Hartley, 57, a 28-year department employee, has served as operations division chief for the last two years and held numerous other positions since joining the city in 1969. The Garden Grove resident will be responsible for a department of 103 employees in seven fire stations.

A panel will interview seven candidates for police chief today in the city's ongoing effort to fill the spot vacated by Stan Knee last year. Knee left Garden Grove, a city of about 156,000, to become police chief in Austin, Texas. City Manager George Tindall said an original pool of about 25 candidates has been narrowed to the seven scheduled for interviews.

City officials expect to continue working to bring jobs and income to Garden Grove in 1998 through redevelopment and upgrading neighborhoods. City Manager George Tindall said officials hope to continue improving the quality of life through economic development and redevelopment programs, including efforts to bring hotels and restaurants to Harbor Boulevard.

The former executive director of the Garden Grove Chamber of Commerce has been hired by the city to help attract and retain business firms. Larry Cooper, who recently resigned from his post as head of the chamber, will receive $5,000 monthly for six months to work with the city's Economic Development Department. Officials hope to attract large industrial and retail companies to Garden Grove. The City Council approved the contract Monday.