VERGENNES — It will be July 24, said Vergennes City Manager Mel Hawley.
Hawley, 64, whose two tenures as city manager total more than three decades, had informed the Vergennes City Council months ago that he would be stepping down no later than August.
At the council’s Feb. 27 meeting Hawley finally pinned down a date — the council’s only meeting in July, which comes on the 24th. Typically he and City Clerk Joan Devine are reappointed at the beginning of the Vergennes fiscal year, which starts in July.
“I have decided I am not seeking reappointment as city manager at your first meeting in July,” Hawley told the council.
Unlike Hawley had previously stated, he also said he would resign as Vergennes zoning administrator as well as the city’s health officer, tree warden, delinquent tax collector and several other roles.
Hawley urged the council to consider increasing the hours of his replacement as zoning administrator. He has worked the job as a part-time position, he said, but as city manager has also typically been at city hall to answer questions, accept applications and work with residents who want to apply and have questions about their projects.
A zoning administrator with limited hours would not be able to offer the same level of help, Hawley said.
“It’s a customer service position,” he said.
At the meeting the council approved Mayor Renny Perry’s recommendation of a search committee to find Hawley’s replacement. It will consist of council members Jeff Fritz and Lynn Donnelly, Police Chief George Merkel, former alderman and Vergennes-Panton Water District commissioner John Emerson, and St. Albans Town Manager Carrie Johnson, a Vergennes native whose parents still live in the city.
The committee will be charged with developing a list of three-to-five candidates to recommend to the council for interviews.