Tauranga City Council is considering putting a busy bus interchange in Farm St, near the Bayfair mall in Arataki. The proposal has stirred up discontent among residents of Farm St and the surrounding areas about
Tauranga City Council to investigate claim CEO made 'threatening' comments
Jenner claimed Grenfell shouted and swore, was "intimidating and threatening" and told him, "you have made the bear come out and the bear is going to get you".
The pair arranged to meet and discuss the issues further.
The next day Jenner made a statement to the police about the call. He said he did not record the call.
He emailed Brownless on Thursday with his description of the call and said he did not want to meet Grenfell alone.
Brownless replied on Friday and said he would engage consultant Campbell Gourlay to run an independent investigation into Jenner's complaint against Grenfell and against other staff members.
It would not be appropriate for Grenfell to meet Jenner until the investigation was done, Brownless said.
Grenfell is a former high-ranking police officer who served as Area Commander for Wellington for several years before moving into local government.
He joined Tauranga City Council in September.
Jenner is a driving instructor and Arataki resident who has long opposed the council's considerations into locating a bus interchange in Farm St.
Jenner spoke in the public forum of Tuesday's live-streamed council Projects, Services and Operations Committee meeting.
He accusing council staff of lying, misleading councillors and making traffic volumes on the street worse.
At one point he tossed a report on the interchange on the ground, calling it "useless".
Soon after, committee chairwoman Leanne Brown asked Jenner to stop making personal attacks against council staff.
In a statement to the Bay of Plenty Times today, Brownless strongly refuted the claim any council staff member had lied in relation to Farm St.
The council has not made a final decision about the location of an interchange for Arataki and is investigating two options including Farm St.