Only two applicants have the experience commissioners want in a new county administrator. The deadline to apply is Friday.
By CATHERINE E. SHOICHET
Published August 24, 2006
The County Commission's second stab at searching for a new administrator is off to a slow start.
Several commissioners said Tuesday that they worried the county would not be able to attract enough qualified candidates before Friday's application deadline. And at least one commissioner mentioned the possibility of starting the search a third time.
But commissioners ultimately decided to stick with the schedule, at least for now.
"Let's just move forward and do the best we can," Commissioner Vicki Phillips said.
Director of Human Resources Randy Petitt told commissioners that of the 21 applications he had received, only two have experience working as a county administrator and working in Florida.
Commissioners have said both of those are key qualifications for the county's top administrative job.
Good candidates for Citrus are also good candidates for other counties, Petitt said. He said at least five in Florida and 22 cities are trying to fill top administrative positions.
Commissioner Joyce Valentino suggested postponing the pick until after the Nov. 7 election.
With two commission seats on the ballot, the election could shift the margin of support for the new administrator, Petitt said.
"That's a deep rut to dig yourself out of," Petitt said.
But officials agreed that the county needs someone to chart the course for major projects sooner rather than later.
"There's never a good time to be without a skipper," Petitt said, adding that he wanted to fill the position as quickly as possible.
If the commissioners' second attempt to find an administrator goes according to plan, they will start interviewing candidates in October. A new administrator could start as early as November.
Commissioners voted 3-2 to fire former County Administrator Richard Wesch in March. Assistant County Administrator Tom Dick has been filling the county administrator position since then in an interim capacity. He has said he does not plan to apply for the job.
The first attempt to find an administrator fell through last month after negotiations with the County Commission's top pick, Charles C. Saddler III of Lakeland, fell apart.
But the Web site of search consultant Mercer Group Inc. of Winter Haven still said Wednesday that the Citrus County administrator position had been filled.
Commissioners have said the consultant failed to provide enough background information about the candidates. They decided to use Petitt rather than a private search firm the second time around.
The county started advertising for the post July 31. Candidates listing Florida experience in their applications include:
- Ron Rabun of Griffin, Ga., who is working as a management consultant in South Carolina. Rabun was county manager of Seminole County from 1991 to 1996, city manager of Clearwater from 1988 to 1991 and county administrator of Manatee County from 1985 to 1988.
- Tony Mervin "Merv" Waldrop of Waynesboro, Ga., who served as city manager of Crystal River from 1990 to 1993.
- Larry Mitchell Jr. of Crystal River, who said he supervised operations at four county community centers from 2001 to 2005. Mitchell has been working as a Realtor for ERA Suncoast Realty since departing from his county job.
- Charles W. Turner of Montevallo, Ala., who said he had served as town manager in Cinco Bayou and as major construction manager for Fort Walton Beach.
- Eugene A. Laurent of Bartow, who served as a division director at the state's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services from 1996 to 2001 and deputy director of research and development for the Florida Department of Citrus from April 2001 to December 2002.
- Michael A. Eurich of Tampa, a public policy and financial development consultant for Eurich & Associates in Tampa, where he has worked since 1989. Eurich also worked as a financial consultant for the state from 1979 to 1989.
- James Austin Woods of Southport, who served as town administrator in Cedar Grove from 1999 to 2001. He also served as acting city clerk there from 1996 to 1999, and assistant to the mayor from 1995 to 1996.
- Barry Mahfood of Longwood, who has worked as a sales associate for Exit Real Estate Results since 2004. Mahfood was chief financial officer of Central Florida Church Inc. in Orlando from 1997 to 2004.
- Kevin D. Roe of Crystal River, who worked as a program manager for Verizon in Tampa from 1999 to 2003 and has worked in several other telecommunications companies in Florida and Georgia.
- Gary P. Shimun of Pembroke Pines, who has served as that city's assistant manager since 2003.
In other news at Tuesday's County Commission meeting:
- The commission returned a proposed expansion at Nature's Resort in Homosassa to the Planning and Development Review Board for another look.
Attorney Clark Stillwell, who represented the developers, asked commissioners to delay their discussion of the proposal to add 185 recreational vehicle and 106 tent sites until new traffic information was available. He said new information had been submitted for the project since the planning board's review.
Phillips was concerned that the commission was recently asked to approve another project in which the planning board did not have sufficient information.
"This needs to stop," she said.
Commissioners also approved a motion to require applicants to have all required information together before pitching proposals before the appropriate board.
Director of Development Services Gary Maidhof said that in the past the county had tried to expedite the process so developers aren't bogged down for months. That becomes more difficult as the county juggles more and larger developments.
"The short time line does not work in these big complex projects," Maidhof said.
- Commissioners unanimously approved the creation of a Department of Water Resources to handle the county's utilities and water quality capital improvement programs, in addition to the possible acquisition of the Florida Governmental Utility Authority's Citrus systems.
The department was proposed in the county's preliminary 2006-07 budget. But the resignation of assistant director of Public Works Bruce Bates prompted officials to try to speed up the establishment of the department.
Times staff writer Barbara Behrendt contributed to this story. Catherine E. Shoichet can be reached at cshoichet@sptimes.com or 860-7309.
