 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
City Hall woos in vain for manager
By ALEX LEARY
© St. Petersburg Times, CRYSTAL RIVER -- City Hall was overcome with optimism briefly Monday evening, when officials approved a five-year deal with city manager candidate Mike Underwood, a backslapping 53-year-old from the Panhandle. "We're striving for stability," City Council member Joe Chrietzberg said proudly. The good news would be passed along to Underwood in the morning. Only Underwood was not home Tuesday. He was in the middle of another job interview, his mind fixed on a larger prize: chief administrator for Walton County. He was offered the position, which pays up to $113,000. "This is an opportunity I could not turn down," Underwood said from his second home in Panama City Beach, not far from Walton County, a growing area of 40,600 people. If he accepts the job offer, Underwood would oversee 350 employees and a $74-million budget. Crystal River has about 65 employees and a roughly $14-million budget. "If we would been just one day earlier . . . " Chrietzberg lamented Tuesday afternoon. A troubling pattern is emerging in Crystal River, which has employed seven managers since 1990. The first candidate for the job to replace David Sallee backed out hours before the council was to review his contract, wary of the turnover in the position. Now this. "It makes me sick," council member Ray Wallace said of the latest development. "I guess Hammond is next in line. Maybe three is the charm, I don't know." He was referring to Tony Hammond, a Navy veteran and town manager in North Topsail Beach, N.C. Hammond could not be reached. Underwood, who is currently city manager in Graceville, near the Alabama state line, said he had every intention of taking the Crystal River job, boasting he could have turned the city around if the "alligators" were removed from the mix. Even so, he would not come without a price. Perhaps sensing how badly Crystal River needed a new leader, Underwood raised the stakes in every key provision of the package offered by the council. He wanted a longer contract, a larger salary, more severance pay and a shorter probation period, among other requests. The gambit paid off. Over strong objections that it was rolling over to an unknown, the council approved every term Underwood sought. He would have been paid $65,000, with a $2,500 raise after six months and an equal amount after the first year. He locked in a five-year contract with two three-year extensions and a six-month severance package. But he had several job applications in circulation. And when Walton came calling, he went running. "I'm looking for bigger and better things each day," Underwood said. Though he did not view them as insurmountable obstacles, Underwood noted the division in Crystal River, pointing to the 3-1 vote on his contract, and said he was uncomfortable being the No. 2 choice. "There is no doubt they have some problems down there," Underwood said, adding that he was not aware the city was prepared to vote on his contract Monday night. He said he believed the matter would be discussed, but a formal decision would not be made until next week. As the council struggles with the issue, some residents are sure to revive a familiar call. "I still say they should go back and pick up David Sallee," said former council member Kitty Ebert. "He knows the town and he did a good job."
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
|
