THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 31, 1995 TAG: 9508310546
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
Almost three months after City Manager Ralph Clark announced his resignation, the City Council on Wednesday began talking about replacing him.
The council held a special hourlong meeting to discuss the qualifications it wants in a new manager and the process it will use to hire one.
Former planning director Victor Sharpe is serving as interim city manager. Council members said they hope to hire a permanent manager by the end of the year.
``Ninety days from now should put us there,'' Mayor H. Rick Gardner said. ``This council should select the new city manager.''
The council will have two new members in January after fall elections determine the replacements for two departing councilmen, David P. Bosomworth and W.L. ``Pete'' Hooker.
Bosomworth and Councilwoman Dorothy Stallings did not attend Wednesday's meeting.
To reach its draft qualifications, which will be discussed at the regular September meeting, the council pored over seven pages of recommended requirements that had been submitted by council members.
One of the council's primary concerns is that the new manager live full time within the city limits. Clark, who announced his resignation May 31 and stepped down in June, returned to his family in Smithfield, N.C., on most weekends.
Other proposed requirements for the job include:
A four-year degree, preferably in public administration.
Experience with annexation issues and capital funding projects.
Industrial development and municipal electric systems experience.
Ability to work with a diverse board and to communicate with the county board.
The council expects to refine its requirements and begin advertising next month, officials said. by CNB