Buena Vista City Council is considering two options for appointing an interim city manager.
One would be to appoint retiring Police Chief Wayne Handley to the position. The other would be to contract with the Berkely Group, an organization that helps fill interim municipal managerial positions from a list of retired local government administrators.
These two options were presented to City Council by outgoing City Manager Jason Tyree this past Thursday, Jan. 15. On a motion by Ron Cash, Council opted to table the matter until its next meeting on Feb. 5, when it will be discussed in closed session.
Under the first option timetable presented by Tyree, Council would have affirmed Handley as the interim city manager on Feb. 5, and he would have transitioned from chief of police to the city manager’s office on Feb. 9. Under this scenario, Assistant Police Chief Dave Clements would become chief of police on Feb. 9.
This proposal would entail having Handley and Tyree work collaboratively over several weeks to ensure a smooth transition of ongoing projects, regional committee assignments, budget development and other key initiatives until March 15, when Tyree would work his final day as city manager. Handley would then formally assume the role of interim/acting city manager.
Under the second option, an interim city manager would be selected from the list supplied by the Berkley Group. Based on a standard 40-hour work week, the cost to the city would be $6,000 per week, an estimated increase of approximately $14,000 per month to the city manager’s budget line item.
City Council decided to move forward with accepting applications to fill a Council vacancy created by the recent resignation of Steve Webb. As of Council’s meeting on Thursday, four applications had already been received. Applications will be accepted through Jan. 30.
Mayor Jesse Lineberry announced the following appointments of City Council members to standing committees – Ron Cash and Danny Staton to the Glen Maury Park committee; Cash and Staton to the cemetery committee; Michelle Poluikis and Amy Gilliam to the budget committee; Stephanie Noel-Branch to the citizens advisory committee; Poluikis and Gilliam to the school facilities committee; Noel-Branch to the outdoor spaces committee; and Cash to the events committee.
Noel-Branch was also tapped to be Council’s representative on a regional recreation committee in which Buena Vista, Lexington and Rockbridge County members of the committee will discuss regional collaborative recreation strategies and facilities.
Poluikis was appointed to a committee that will be looking into possible uses for the former Mountain Gateway Community College’s Rockbridge Center building on Vista Links Drive. Jennifer Humphrey was appointed to represent Buena Vista on the Maury Service Authority.
After listening to a presentation from Cpl. Josh Guttmann of the police department, Council adopted a resolution to seek to become a Certified Crime Prevention Community. Such an affiliation, Guttmann explained, will enhance coordination between the community and police department on crime prevention initiatives as well as make the city eligible for certain state grants.
