Bob Lee intends to read the Naples contract and accept it after the weekend. He says he leaves on the very best of terms.
By AMY WIMMER
Published June 1, 2003
GULFPORT - Longtime City Manager Bob Lee plans to leave for the top administrative job in Naples at the end of this month.
Lee, 49, who has been city manager of Gulfport for 13 years, was offered the position Friday afternoon after two days of interviews in Naples. Lee said late Friday he plans to spend the weekend reviewing the contract before formally accepting the job.
The city of Naples wants him to start June 30.
Lee said he is not dissatisfied with his job in Gulfport but considers Naples, population 21,000, one of the few areas that could lure him away from the city of 12,500.
"I consider myself part of a team there that has helped me make some important improvements," Lee said of Gulfport. "That city is going to do well."
Mayor Michael Yakes still has hope that Gulfport can hang onto its city manager, even though Lee said he is definitely taking the job, assuming he can work out with Naples the final details of the contract.
"We offer some things money can't buy," Yakes said of Gulfport. "It's prejudiced, but I think Gulfport has more to offer, and the cost of living is better."
Lee, one of the highest-paid city managers in Pinellas County, now earns $100,452 per year plus a $5,000 annual bonus. Naples offered $120,000 per year plus an $18,000 annual housing bonus.
Gary Galleberg, vice mayor of Naples, said he was impressed by the way Lee presented himself. He said the city manager has "a solid, confident demeanor without being flashy about it."
"He had an extremely targeted desire that he was extremely happy in Gulfport and would only leave for Naples," Galleberg said.
Lee earned his master's degree in public administration from the University of Pittsburgh. Three years ago, he earned a doctorate in public administration.
His 13 years in Gulfport have been a boom time for the city. Just this year, in numbers released last week, the city's property values increased 13.9 percent. In the Waterfront Business District where Lee has devoted much of his efforts as city manager, values increased 32.9 percent.
When Lee was hired as city manager in 1990, he was the 36-year-old chief administrative officer of Lauderhill, a Fort Lauderdale suburb. He turned down the job one year earlier, saying it did not meet his salary expectations. The City Council then went through two city managers in one year before again offering the job to Lee.
The second time, he accepted.
Mayor Michael Yakes said Lee had informed City Council members and city department heads that he planned to apply for the Naples job.
"He holds nothing under the table. He's a straight-up man," Yakes said. "I knew he had been contacted and approached. With his talent, I expect it."
Lee called Friday "a very emotional day." He said his decision "is not because of any unhappiness in Gulfport."
"I honestly cannot think of a better time when I could leave the city," said Lee, pointing to the stable City Council and relationships between council and staff. "I'm not so sure I'm needed as much as I was. If you can leave a place and feel good about it, that's a good situation."
- Naples Daily News staff writer Dianna Smith contributed to this report.
