After taking almost three hours in a closed session meeting, the James City County Board of Supervisors named Doug Powell as interim county administrator.
The James City County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 in late November to fire County Administrator Robert Middaugh after his almost three-year tenure. The board left the position open until Supervisor Kevin Onizuk (Jamestown) began his term, naming Powell at its organizational meeting Thursday.
Doug Powell has been serving as the county’s assistant county administrator and has been with the county since the mid-1990s. The board’s decision to move Powell into the interim county administrator role was unanimous.
Prior to entering the closed session to discuss an appointment for the interim county administrator position, board members voiced their opinions on a search process for a permanent county administrator, as well as qualifications for the interim.
To begin the discussion, Onizuk suggested the board move in a positive direction for the county and leave baggage from the confusion of the past few days at the door. Earlier this week, Supervisor John McGlennon (Roberts) said Supervisor Mary Jones (Berkeley) called to inform him Edgar Maroney, the retired longtime city manager for Newport News, had accepted an offer to serve as interim administrator. The appointment would have meant he was offered the job outside of a board vote. Maroney and Jones both denied the claim, then Maroney withdrew his name from consideration Wednesday.
“Having not been on the board before yesterday, I was certainly able to be involved in the process, but not in an official capacity … as a board we have not handled that well to this point,” Onizuk said. “We all want to move forward and do something positive … I am just hopeful in general that we can find a way to communicate with each other in a more positive manner.”
Powhatan Supervisor Michael Hipple, who was named vice chairman of the board for 2014 at Thursday’s meeting, said it was important to have Onizuk on the board before making a decision since Onizuk will be serving on the board for the next four years.
Moving into discussion about the interim county administrator’s role, Roberts Supervisor John McGlennon said the board needed to determine how long the position would last. McGlennon said Stonehouse Supervisor Jim Kennedy suggested the board use a similar search process as had been used to hire Middaugh, which would have the interim administrator serving about three to five months.
The person filling the role would need to be someone who could serve at least that long, McGlennon said. He also suggested the board determine what it wants to accomplish and what its objectives are to “bring us someone who can keep the county moving ahead but not change things dramatically. We’re going to be looking for a county administrator who will be expected to come in and, with the board, plan the direction the county goes in.”
He explained the interim administrator should have knowledge of county government and be willing to accept the position. The interim administrator would need to be an effective manager, not someone trying to advance a policy agenda, he said.
Berkeley Supervisor Mary Jones, who was voted chairwoman for 2014 at the board’s Thursday meeting, said the board needed to locate someone who not only could manage the county’s employees and local government, but who would be there to serve the citizens of James City County.
Stonehouse Supervisor Jim Kennedy said McGlennon’s comments hit on several key points, and added the interim position is a strategic one as the board moves into its fiscal year 2015 budget-planning season.
“We start the budget process now. … That’s the most integral part of what we do,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy said the interim administrator needed to be more than a “caretaker;” the person should take the county down the road as the board provides direction, but currently the board is not in a position to do that.
“We’ve got to communicate better,” he said, referring to several emails he has sent to the board in the past few months that have gone unanswered. “… I can’t do it through osmosis and I couldn’t do it through osmosis. The board needs to do it together. There needs to be an establishment of trust. There is no trust. … If we don’t have trust, we have nothing.”
To move forward, Kennedy said the board needed to decide what was important so it could provide direction to the interim county administrator.
As for a time frame, Kennedy said a 90-day interim administrator was unrealistic; he could see the position lasting until May or June.
If the board could not choose an interim administrator, Kennedy suggested Powell be granted the power of an interim administrator because he has been “handcuffed” from being able to perform certain duties since Middaugh’s termination. While he suggested Powell serve as interim administrator, Kennedy said Powell has informed the board he is not interested in a long-term position as county administrator.
The board moved into a closed session to discuss a potential interim county administrator, emerging almost three hours later with Powell as its choice.
Other Board Matters
The first matter the board took up at its Thursday meeting was nominations for chairman and vice chairman. Hipple nominated Jones for chairman, and she was voted to the role on a 4-1 vote with McGlennon opposed. Onizuk nominated Hipple for vice chairman, and he was also voted to the role on a 4-1 vote with McGlennon opposed.
The board voted on its 2014 meeting calendar, which includes meetings on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month except in August and December. The board will meet the second Tuesday of August and December. Additional meetings are scheduled for budget planning sessions and a legislative day. The full meeting schedule is available online.
Board members also volunteered to fill slots on various boards and commissions. The board members and their commissions are:
Hipple:
- School Liaison
- Economic Development Authority Liaison
- Williamsburg Area Destination Marketing Committee
- Regional Issues Committee
Jones:
- Hampton Roads Economic Development Authority
- Hampton Roads Military and Federal Facilities Alliance
- Hampton Roads Planning District Commission
- Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization
Kennedy:
- Historic Triangle Collaborative
- Agricultural and Forestal District Advisory Committee
- Farmers Advisory Committee
McGlennon:
- Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail Authority
- High Growth Coalition of the Virginia Association of Counties
- Williamsburg Area Medical Assistance Corporation (Olde Towne Medical Center)
Onizuk: