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City manager resigns to run improvement district

Al Grieshaber Jr. will be general manager at Sun n' Lake, resigning nine months after taking the post.

By SHEILA MULLANE ESTRADA
Published November 15, 2006

City Manager Al Grieshaber Jr. resigned Friday, announcing he has accepted a position as general manager at Sun n' Lake, an improvement district near Sebring in Highlands County.

Grieshaber is leaving only nine months after he was appointed city manager here. He had served as interim city manager since August 2005, after the former city manager, John Coffee, resigned under fire.

He will be making more money at his new job - $110,000 compared to his current salary of $86,520. He also will be an hour closer to his family in Sanford, where he previously served as city manager.

Salary was a major issue when Grieshaber accepted the permanent post here last February. He had asked for a $102,000 annual salary, less than the $125,000 he had earned in Sanford.

Instead, the Indian Rocks Beach Commission refused to pay him more than $84,000.

That was increased slightly during budgeting this summer and was expected to increase again after a performance evaluation scheduled for Tuesday evening.

That review has been canceled, according to Mayor Bill Ockunzzi, making moot a promise Grieshaber made to Ockunzzi to add a clause to his contract prohibiting him from looking for another job for a three-year period.

"I guess he wanted to avoid that," Ockunzzi said. "Al did a good job. He brought stability, got the staff working together and started initiatives with the business community."

While in Indian Rocks Beach, Grieshaber lived in a rented apartment in Seminole and commuted on weekends to his family in Sanford. He also repeatedly applied for other positions, including the posts of Tavares city administrator and Citrus County administrator.

"This is a professional growth opportunity," Grieshaber said Monday, adding that while Indian Rocks Beach has been kind to him, he is excited by the idea of helping direct Sun n' Lake's future growth.

Sun n' Lake is not an incorporated town or city. Instead it is a state-mandated special improvement district of about 7,500 residents. The 12-square-mile development area is run much like a homeowners association while providing typical municipal services.

Grieshaber's last day at Indian Rocks Beach will be Jan. 10. He is scheduled to begin his new job on or before Jan. 18.

Now the commission must find another city manager.

The process could take six months or more, Ockunzzi says.

In the meantime, the city must appoint an interim manager, a person Ockunzzi says will most likely come from outside the city staff.

[Last modified November 14, 2006, 21:34:52]